Man arrested for killing geese in Springfield wasn’t Haitian

A 64-year-old white man in Springfield, Ohio, was accused of illegally hunting geese in a golf course pond while former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, spread racist lies that Haitian immigrants were in the area, geese and people’s pets ate.

Brian Comer was charged with a misdemeanor in connection with the September 10 incident. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by JS, a golfer at Rocky Lakes Golf Course in Springfield reported seeing a Canada goose floating in a pond and Comer using a shotgun to shoot another bird.

Comer did not immediately respond to requests for comment from JS, but court records show he has entered a guilty plea. A court spokesperson told JS he had paid $200 to cover a fine and court costs.

Journalist Steven Monacelli posted first about the arrest Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.

According to the affidavit from an Ohio Division of Wildlife officer, the golfer approached Comer about the dead goose in the pond, and Comer said there would be more dead geese in a few minutes. Comer then reportedly mounted his lawn mower with a shotgun and fired twice, killing a second goose.

The golfer told police that Comer picked up the first goose and threw it into the weeds and then broke the neck of the second bird, which was injured, according to the affidavit.

Officers who spoke with the golf course manager the next day learned Comer was an employee, the affidavit said. The manager told authorities she allowed several individuals, including Comer, to hunt on the property and claimed he must have all necessary permits.

However, when authorities checked the Division of Wildlife’s licensing and harvest database, Comer did not have the certifications to hunt migratory birds, according to the affidavit.

Comer told authorities by phone that he was mowing the grass at the range that day and wanted to shoot some geese, but admitted he did not have the necessary permit, the affidavit said. Instead, he said he believed this was allowed because he believed the golf course had a nuisance permit. (The state makes killing geese possible only under nuisance permit from March to August.)

Comer was charged on Sept. 18 with a fourth-degree felony count of prohibited activities against state-owned wildlife, according to court records.

The incident at Rocky Lakes Golf Course took place on the same day as the presidential debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. During the debate, Trump repeated the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield ate pets. At a meeting two days later, he falsely accused immigrants of taking ducks and geese from Springfield’s parks and trails.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has said it has found no evidence of Haitian immigrants bringing geese or ducks; a viral photo of a black man holding a goose was actually taken in Columbus, where there is also no evidence of Haitian immigrants harming animals, USA Today reports this. A Facebook post that spread a rumor about a Haitian immigrant killing a cat has also been debunked, and the woman behind it told NBC News she regretted posting it. Nevertheless, the racist lies have spread on far-right social media accounts and among Republican politicians.

According to a local nonprofit, the racist stories have caused real harm to Haitians legally living in Springfield. The Haitian Bridge Alliance has filed a criminal affidavit seeking the arrest of Trump and Vance. more than 30 “widespread bombings and other threats” against their community.

The group has submitted an application additional statement Wednesday after the vice presidential debate, claiming that Vance effectively admitted on stage that he had lied about Haitians in Springfield when he protested CBS’ fact-checking of their legal status.

“Not only did Vance lie again during the debate over legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield by protesting fact-checking, he also admitted he lied,” said Subodh Chandra, chief counsel for the Haitian Bridge Alliance. said in a statement. “He knows the damage he’s doing and he doesn’t care. That is criminal.”