Mayors from southwestern Ohio — a region plagued by internet claims about migrants eating cats and dogs — are wheeling on President Trump and his running mate, Senator Vance, for spreading the debunked rumors, saying that spreading the false claims make everyone less safe.

Springfield, Ohio’s schools, hospitals, and universities have all faced temporary closures because a number of bomb threats have been called in. The city announced Monday morning that an annual festival celebrating cultural diversity in the town is being cancelled “in light of recent threats and safety concerns.”

The Republican mayor of Springfield, Rob Rue, tells Politico that he is deeply “frustrated” with Trump’s and Mr. Vance’s insistence that pets were being abducted and eaten in his city by the growing Haitian migrant population. 

“Any political leader that takes the national stage and has the national spotlight needs to understand the gravity of the words that they have for cities like ours, and what they say impacts our city,” Mr. Rue said. 

“We’ve had bomb threats the last two days. We’ve had personal threats the last two days, and it’s increasing, because the national stage is swirling this up. Springfield, Ohio, is caught in a political vortex, and it is a bit out of control,” he added. 

When asked if he would vote for Trump — who took the story national during last week’s debate with Vice President Harris — Mr. Rue declined to answer. “I’m just probably not going to answer that question,” the mayor said. 

Mr. Rue is not saying things are perfect in his town, to be sure. During a July conversation with former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, the mayor said the influx of migrants has put a strain on the city. 

“We’re a city that’s budgeted for a population of 60,000 and we’re serving a city … of an estimated 75,000. Our safety services, our hospital services, our education system [are] overwhelmed,” Mr. Rue said. He added that, based on the Haitian migrants he has personally met, he has seen that they “want to work” and that they are “glad to be out of such a horrendous and terrible situation” in Haiti. 

“We’re asking federal representatives to look at this situation. We’re looking for funds,” he said. 

The stories of migrants stealing Ohioans’ pets has already spread beyond Mr. Rue’s home town to the neighboring city of Dayton, which is located just 25 miles from Springfield. 

It started with conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who offered anyone on the internet $5,000 if they were able to provide “hard, verifiable evidence that Haitian migrants are eating cats in Springfield, Ohio.”

Three days later, he posted a video on X from a Dayton resident who says during the video that it “looks like” two cats are being grilled over charcoal in someone’s backyard. Some observers pointed out that the video appeared to show whole, halved chickens being grilled, because the feet of the animal carcasses more closely resembled bird talons as opposed to feline paws. Mr. Rufo claimed that the grilling was done by migrants from Africa, which prompted a response from both the city’s mayor and its police chief. 

“This claim is totally false and dangerously irresponsible of politicians aiming to sow division and fear,” Mayor Jeffrey Mims wrote in a statement on Saturday. “There has been absolutely zero reports of this type of activity and spreading such misinformation undermines our status as a welcoming city. The city of Dayton stands by its immigrant and refugee community and we value all of their contributions to our city’s vibrant culture and economy.”

Dayton’s police chief echoed the mayor’s comments in his own statement over the weekend. “There is no evidence to even remotely suggest that any group, including our immigrant community, is engaged in eating pets,” he said. “Seeing politicians or other individuals use outlandish information to appeal to their constituents is disheartening.”