Police body-worn camera footage shows a Haitian immigrant eating a cat in Springfield, Ohio.
This isn’t what it shows. The video shows an arrest for alleged offences against a cat. The woman in the video was born in the US, and it was filmed in Canton—a different town in Ohio. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a charge of cruelty to companion animals.
A video is being shared on social media with false claims it depicts a woman who is a “Haitian immigrant” eating a cat in the town of Springfield in the United States.
One version of the video shared on Facebook has overlaid text reading: “This Haitian immigrant woman was arrested for eating her neighbor’s pet [sic].” Other posts claim the woman is an “illegal immigrant”.
In the clip, which appears to be police body-worn camera footage, a man’s voice can be heard asking a person crouched on the ground: “What did you do? Why did you kill the cat?” The same voice later asks: “Did you eat that cat?”
It comes amid unevidenced claims, amplified by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during Wednesday night’s debate, that immigrants from Haiti are stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
The video of the woman, which is being shared as evidence for the theories about pet-eating in Springfield, is actually unconnected. It shows the arrest of a woman in Canton, Ohio (141 miles away from Springfield) on 16 August.
The person in the footage has been named as Alexis Ferrell. The Canton Police Department confirmed to Full Fact over email that she is a US citizen, born in Canton.
Ms Ferrell has been charged with cruelty to companion animals, according to Stark County Court. It is alleged she killed the cat by stomping on it before eating it.
According to local US media, Ms Ferrell entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. A competency hearing has been scheduled for 15 October.
Full Fact has covered key claims from the presidential debate on 10 September, and looked at misinformation that we have seen circulating about the nominees.
It’s important to consider whether videos and images you see on social media are accurate, or whether they could be misleading. Our guides about verifying images and videos can help you do this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the woman in the video is not a Haitian national or an illegal immigrant, and it was filmed in Canton, Ohio, 141 miles away from Springfield.
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