Sep. 10, 2024: Are Haitians Really Eating Cats?

Cease-fire word salad; A special Kamala quiz; The 'angst' of Jewish Currents

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The Big Story

You may have seen a headline or a rumor or a meme, or a debunking of said headlines or rumors or memes, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating people’s pets, as well as ducks from the local park. What’s going on here?

The whole thing appears to have started with a story in The New York Times last week that attacked Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance for “politicizing” Haitian immigration to Springfield. The spark that lit the blaze was a fatal car crash last August, in which an 11-year-old boy was killed and 23 other children were injured when a school bus was forced to swerve off the road to avoid a head-on collision with an uninsured and unlicensed Haitian driver; Vance started talking Springfield this July. The Times piece was sympathetic to the Haitians, whom it praised for “revitalizing” a “shrinking Midwestern town with an uncertain future,” but the numbers were eye-popping. The paper revealed that about 20,000 Haitians had arrived in the town of 58,000 people since 2021—the equivalent of 2.8 million arriving in New York City. 

Once the Times had drawn attention to the issue, right-wing accounts on X began circulating rumors, sourced from local Nextdoor and Facebook postings and from accusations leveled in town council meetings, of Haitians in Springfield abducting and eating local pets and killing ducks in the town park. Some of these rumors were boosted by Elon Musk, spawning an entire genre of AI-generated memes featuring Donald Trump protecting cats and ducks. The most alarming rumors have since been debunked: The (real) killing and eating of a Springfield cat was revealed to have been the work of a deranged U.S. citizen, and a widely circulated image of a Haitian-looking man carrying what appeared to be a duck turned out to have been a photo, posted to Reddit in July, of a man (origin unknown) carrying a dead goose in Columbus, Ohio, 50 miles away. On Tuesday, the town of Springfield issued a statement clarifying that “there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

On the other hand, we haven’t seen confirmation of—but we have no reason to doubt—allegations of dangerous driving from uninsured and unlicensed migrants, given how common of a problem this is in the country at large. Over the past decade, the author of The Scroll has been in four car accidents and witnessed one hit-and-run in locations ranging from Georgia to Northern Virginia to New York City. In all but one of those cases, the (other) driver had no valid license, no insurance, and no legal status in the United States. And while the lurid rumors of cat abductions may reflect communal madness, displaced anxieties about rapid demographic change, or something else, there have been documented cases elsewhere of migrants killing wildlife for food. Last March, for instance, The Washington Free Beacon reported that two Honduran nationals had been arrested for shooting and killing a bald eagle in a Nebraska state wildlife refuge, apparently with the intention of eating it. 

More generally, the story has called attention to the enormous number of Haitians who have migrated to the United States under the Biden-Harris administration. In a Tuesday X thread, America First Legal provided the numbers, which included 475,000 nationwide “encounters” (i.e., Haitians entering the country illegally) and more than 205,000 who have been “paroled” into the country via the administration’s Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) program. Those who entered through CHNV effectively have legal status, while of the nearly half-million who entered illegally, less than 3,000 have been deported. The remainder were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in July, shielding them from deportation until at least February 2026.

Biden and Harris brought them to the United States, and Harris apparently plans to keep them. On Sunday, Harris finally updated her website to include a policy page ahead of tonight’s debate. There was at least one amusing, but telling, screw-up: despite Harris aides leaking to friendly press that she intended to break with the unpopular Biden, metadata revealed that much of the language on her policy page had been lifted directly from the old Biden campaign page. But there was at least some substance. On immigration, for instance, Harris proposed an “earned pathway to citizenship” for those in the country illegally—whose ranks have swollen by perhaps 8 million during her term as vice president. And it’s not just Harris. Nancy Pelosi, who along with Barack Obama helped install Harris as the Democratic nominee, told Bill Maher earlier this month that she would like to “move [undocumented immigrants] to documented” through “comprehensive immigration reform.” Sounds like there’s a consensus.

There is a certain economic logic to the push for legalizing—or quasi-legalizing—massive numbers of foreign workers. In April, journalist Lee Fang reported on the efforts of the Business Roundtable, the Chamber of Commerce, and food-processing giants such as Tyson Foods to aggressively lobby for immigration “reform,” more agricultural worker visas, and the expansion of TPS status for illegal immigrants. The lobbying campaign, as the business leaders themselves have explained, is motivated by a desire to beat back pandemic-era “wage inflation,” i.e., wage increases in low-skilled jobs sparked by the closure of the border and the reduction in worker visas during the COVID-19 crisis. 

There is also, of course, a political rationale. Ohio is a pretty Trumpy state, but it still has one Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, who is currently leading by about 2% in the polls. Our assumption is that the Biden administration’s border policy has largely been driven by ineptitude and a tendency to outsource immigration decisions to left-wing nonprofits—who are luckily in full agreement with business lobbyists—rather than by any conscious desire to reshape the American electorate, as is sometimes alleged. However, if Trump runs ahead of the polls in Ohio and Brown finds himself in a close race, we’ll be very, very curious to see if 20,000 Democratic votes in Springfield would have made a difference. And if that thought’s occurred to us, you can bet it’s occurred to the Democratic brain trust, who, after all, get paid a lot more than we do. 

IN THE BACK PAGES: Ben West, the commissioner of Clackamas County, Washington, explains how local prosecutors took down antifa

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The Rest

→Are we losing our minds? It’s a good question to periodically ask yourself, but in our case, it was prompted by following the Biden-Harris administration’s communications about the cease-fire deal in Gaza over the past week. For instance, last week, in the wake of Hamas’s cold-blooded execution of six hostages, we were morbidly amused to see various administration flaks trotting out the line that the deal was “90%” done, except for the details about prisoner exchanges and Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor. In other words, the deal is done, except for the deal part! 

“Basically 90% of this deal has been agreed, and it has been agreed on terms that even Hamas had in their own proposal,” one anonymous U.S. official told reporters last Wednesday. And on Thursday, U.S. National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, asked by a reporter from CNN if the 90% figure was too “optimistic,” assured us that, on the contrary, it was “accurate”:

So, first of all, “90 percent,” “verge of a deal”—you call that optimistic, I call that accurate. That’s how close we believe we are. That’s where we have gotten to. The basic framework of the deal has been agreed to. What we’re talking about now is the implementing details and, specifically, the exchange of prisoners …

Now, have we been hopeful? Yeah, you bet. And as I said yesterday, no apologies for that. Not one bit. We’d rather get caught trying than not try at all. And we’re trying.

Beautiful speech, John. They should make you a coach!

→Ok, so that was last week. What’s happened since? Well, “Mr. Sinwar” made clear that the final “10%” does in fact matter. Over the weekend, Hamas introduced a new demand: that Israel release Palestinian terrorists serving life sentences in Israeli prisons in exchange for civilian hostages, despite the sides previously agreeing that these prisoners would only be exchanged for IDF hostages. What a jerk! We’re beginning to suspect this Sinwar character is bad news. 

Even U.S. officials were, apparently, stunned by the new demand, with one describing it to The Washington Post Sunday as a “poison pill.” According to a Saturday report from Barak Ravid, the White House was “sad, upset and frustrated,” suspicious that Sinwar didn’t want a deal, and—in a particularly laughable line—sensitive to “President Biden’s” alleged fear of being seen to reward Hamas for murdering the hostages. The White House was so demoralized, in fact, that it had reportedly abandoned plans to move forward with a new bridging proposal. 

→Kinda makes sense, right? Washington wants a deal, Hamas won’t play ball, too bad, so sad, thanks for playing. Here’s where we thought we’d gone insane: After all that—i.e., after the complete and utter collapse of all the “90% done” happy talk in full public view—U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a press conference Tuesday with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in which he delivered the following quote: 

More than 90% of the issues have been agreed, decided, so we’re down to a handful of issues—not even a handful of issues—that are hard but are fully resolvable, in our judgment. And as we’ve said before, when you get down to the last 10%—the last 10 meters—those are, almost by definition, the hardest ground to cover.

Wait, what? Not just 90%, mind you: more than 90%! We’re actually making progress! (The last 10 “meters” was a nice touch, too—you can really tell that Blinken is a man of the world.) Oh, and the White House would be preparing a new bridging proposal “very soon.” Dutifully performing his designated role as Blinken’s gimp, Lammy added that the 90% figure was “completely correct.” Thanks, David! Did you do the math?

So, either we’re crazy or stuck in some sort of Groundhog Day scenario, or the steady drip-drip of “news” and “updates” about the “progress” of the “negotiations” is a ludicrous bit of Kabuki that anyone more sentient than a bag of rocks can safely mock or ignore. 

We suspect it’s the latter, but we’ll look into getting our heads checked just in case. 

→Pop quiz: Which of the following policies did Vice President Kamala Harris express her support for in a 2019 questionnaire for the American Civil Liberties Union? (Answer after the ad)

(a) Criminal prosecution of then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to hold him “accountable” for allowing Donald Trump to spread “misinformation” on his platform

(b) Establishing a commission to consider renaming Washington, D.C., due to George Washington’s ownership of slaves

(c) Taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for illegal immigrants held in federal custody

(d) Redesigning the interstate highway system to address the legacy of systemic racism in federally funded infrastructure

(e) “The Justice for Jussie Smollett Act,” adding a federal enhancement to any hate crimes committed while wearing a MAGA hat

The answer? (c), per a Monday story from CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski.

In the ACLU questionnaire, which Harris filled out while running in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, the current vice president promised not only to pay for “gender care and transition surgeries” for illegal immigrants and others held in federal detention but also to slash immigrant detention by 50%, defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and end ICE detainers, which allow the agency to apprehend illegal migrants charged with crimes. For a sense what of what the latter would imply, consider the August New York Times story on the case of Daniel Davon-Bonilla, a migrant from Nicaragua who crossed the southern border in 2022. Davon-Bonilla was arrested for rape in 2023 at a New York migrant shelter and subject to an ICE detainer. New York City, however, ignored the detainer due to its sanctuary city laws, which prohibit local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Davon-Bonilla eventually plead down and was released. Last month, he arrested again—this time for raping a woman at knifepoint under the Coney Island boardwalk.

→Headline of the Day: 

The Angst and Sorrow of Jewish Currents

That’s from a profile in the latest issue of The New Yorker on Jewish Currents, the formerly Stalinist little magazine recently rebranded as the Jewish voice of the millennial keffiyeh crowd—not to be confused with the 2022 New York Times profile of Jewish Currents editor Arielle Angel or the October 2023 “Ezra Klein Show” podcast special featuring Jewish Currents editor-at-large Peter Beinart. The “angst and sorrow” apparently has something to do with the editors’ difficulty in trying to solve the “enigma” of a “novel Jewishness for the diaspora” while providing “mourning that was not a prelude to vengeance” in the wake of Oct. 7. (On Oct. 7, Palestinian Jewish Currents contributor Dylan Saba tweeted, “I could not be more proud of my people,” while contributing editor Noah Kulwin likened the massacre to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry and attacked “left-liberals” for not having a “more nuanced appraisal of mass hostage taking and terror as a tactic.”) And so on. 

In our view, however, the headline was that Jewish Currents has only about 10,000 subscribers, which is less than The Scroll. Which gets us to thinking: Where’s our New Yorker profile?

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TODAY IN TABLET: 

Divine Right, by Jeffrey Shandler

The Sept. 11 attacks altered many people’s convictions. For ultra-Orthodox Jews, they reinforced a strongly held belief in divine authority.

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SCROLL TIP LINE: Have a lead on a story or something going on in your workplace, school, congregation, or social scene that  you want to tell us about? Send your tips, comments, questions, and suggestions to scroll@tabletmag.com.

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Antifa Must Obey the Law

The leftist militia thought they could riot in Clackamas County like they do in Portland. We proved them wrong.

by Ben West

I am an elected county commissioner, a cardiology nurse, and an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve who was born and raised in the heart of Portland, Oregon. In 2014 my husband and I successfully sued the state of Oregon in federal court for the right to marry, and overturned Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage. Just a few weeks before making history for marriage equality, my husband and I adopted our son Jay from the Oregon foster system and moved to Clackamas County, which is adjacent to Portland. We thought we had escaped the political radicalism of Portland to raise our son—until it arrived on our doorstep in the form of antifa vs. Proud Boy violence.

For decades, Portland has been characterized by its protests and political extremism. However, starting in 2016 and building up to 2020, the radicalism reached new heights of public intimidation and lawless violence. Over the last three and a half years, I have watched activist district attorneys, judges, and lawyers in Multnomah County including District Attorney Mike Schmidt provide cover and sweetheart deals to antifa and refuse to prosecute the group for its violent actions. Exhausted by the impunity with which groups such as antifa are allowed to operate like an armed militia in the streets—under the apparent protective shield that renders them immune to prosecution—many people question whether the criminal justice system is still effective.

But this summer, Clackamas County—where I now serve as county commissioner—demonstrated that it’s not like Portland. Twelve jurors, mostly women, convicted a violent antifa ringleader of a 2021 attack at a public park. What they did was brave, especially since they were being intimated by members of antifa during the trial. Alissa Eleanor Azar, now a convicted felon, is believed to be the first antifa associate to be convicted at trial in Oregon. On Monday afternoon, she was sentenced to 14 days in jail and 36 months of supervised probation and GPS monitoring.

As a county commissioner in a neighboring jurisdiction, I hadn’t seen the chaos that had engulfed Portland spill over into my community until June 18, 2021, when Ms. Azar and Portland-based antifa militants mobilized to attack and shut down a First Amendment-protected event attended by members of the Proud Boys. Local media barely covered the political violence at that event. Poor and at times deliberately misleading press coverage obfuscated the degree of horrific and dangerous brawling instigated by antifa in a public park, making it hard for both local residents and officials to understand what had happened.

I attended the five-day trial of Ms. Azar in Oregon City. As an elected leader, I know the full weight of my responsibility. That’s why I spoke up outside the trial to make it clear that this county doesn’t welcome political violence. The whole world is aware of the actions of antifa in Portland, but I wanted to know their impact on Clackamas, which shares an approximate 10-mile border with the city of Portland; we’re all in the same metro area. Here, unlike Portland, rampant violent outbursts from extremist groups are not commonplace or accepted. Clackamas is a county composed of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Politically, the county is purple; an amalgam of diverse political beliefs and citizens who desire to live together peacefully.

As I sat as in the gallery during the trial, I could not help but notice how most of the courtroom observers were associates of antifa and Ms. Azar—some of whom had been recorded in videos at the riot that the defendant was being prosecuted over. Most of them were masked in the courtroom, concealing their identity. Many of the antifa attendees at Ms. Azar’s trial wore Palestinian kaffiyehs to advertise their allegiance to extreme political causes, some of which embrace terror. Their image made it clear that they were part of a political club, or gang, and virtue-signaling their allegiance to the political left.

According to evidence presented in court by the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Josh Cutino, part of Clackamette Park was rented lawfully by a Proud Boys associate named Dan Tooze for a voter registration and flag-waving event. As a resident of Oregon City, Mr. Tooze has the right to rent public venues like anyone else, regardless of his political views. Antifa members are afforded the very same rights, but they shy from identifying themselves on official forms as part of their MO which elevates extrajudicial “direct action” over lawful expression and debate.

Like most residents of my county, I do not support either the Proud Boys or antifa. However, public institutions cannot deny people access because of their viewpoints. There is simply no question about the illegality of viewpoint-based discrimination according to our laws and the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to free speech and expression and to peaceable assembly.

In response to the event, Portland antifa members organized online for “direct action” to shut down the event through violence. Dozens traveled to the county both within the state and across state lines in vehicles that were outfitted for battle. Most of them wore black, covered their faces, and brought along melee weapons. Ms. Azar was part of that group.

Antifa’s “direct action” in our park reached its climax when one of the group’s members desecrated an American flag by lighting it on fire. A Proud Boy member rushed to the burning flag and stomped it out.

What happened next was a violent brawl that was not contained to a small area of the park. Innocent bystanders wanting to enjoy a summer day with their families were instead choked by pepper spray and mace and forced to witness violent fights with weapons. Exhibits in court showed that weapons such as clubs, shields, bear spray, chemical wipes, and even homemade explosive devices were recovered at the scene.

One elderly former Clackamas resident testified of her severe PTSD from the riot and how she, her son, and pet were surrounded during the melee. She told the court through tears that she chose to leave Oregon because of the trauma she endured that day.

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I have a responsibility to represent my constituents, and I will not sit quietly and let unchecked crime happen in Clackamas County. I spoke up via video updates on X every day in front of the courthouse to share what I observed in the courtroom. John Hacker, a violent Portland antifa associate and close friend of Ms. Azar's, tried multiple times to use the heckler’s veto to silence me from speaking outside the courthouse.

Ms. Azar was found guilty by a jury of her peers of felony riot and disorderly conduct. The jury was hung on the mace charge, which is a misdemeanor; the district attorney will not recharge that crime.

Shortly after Alissa Azar’s guilty verdict, Mr. Hacker became more aggressive. I witnessed him punch a man to the ground just steps from the courthouse. He bloodied the victim’s face with a puncture wound. As a registered nurse, I provided medical aid to the man until emergency services arrived. He was dazed and had malformations to his upper jaw and face.

Mr. Hacker was arrested a few streets away and charged with fourth-degree misdemeanor assault. He already has an open criminal case in Multnomah County. Similarly, Ms. Azar still faces a charge in Multnomah County for her alleged criminal behavior at a violent Portland State University occupation in May where the library was destroyed in the name of Palestinian resistance; Oregon taxpayers will have to foot the $1 million bill in damages. It remains to be seen if DA Mike Schmidt will see those cases to the end, or quietly let them drop, as has become the norm in Portland.

America is a country that respects the rule of law. Freedom of speech, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, gives individuals the right to express themselves freely, which is a fundamental human right. However, radical political groups like antifa do not believe in freedom of speech. They assert that all speech that offends them should be violently extinguished. They rely on their political sponsors to protect them from the legal consequences of their repeated acts of political violence which deprive other citizens of their rights.

I am committed to protecting the right to peaceful expression of opinions, even by those with whom I may disagree. The First Amendment would be meaningless if unpopular or uncomfortable speech were not protected. Speech is NOT violence; conversely, speech prevents violence by allowing us to use words and ideas to solve our differences. But for any of that to work, we must enforce our laws protecting speech, free assembly, and ordinary citizens enjoying a day in the park against the effects of political violence.

Being so close to Portland, Clackamas County will never be immune to the public safety problems stemming from political extremism that has been allowed to run rampant in some of our major cities with cover from public officials. But when antifa tried their antics in Clackamas, they failed, because we were willing and able to enforce the laws that are meant to protect us all. If antifa seeks to endanger the public here by carrying out further criminal acts, they will again be prosecuted.