The Jamaican business owner in Springfield, Missouri, finds himself in the middle of a political controversy

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – It started with a social media post. Subsequently, during the presidential debate, the claim of Haitian immigrants and pets was discussed in Springfield, Ohio.

Now a Springfield businessman is caught up in the controversy.

“I followed the debate. I almost fell out of my seat. It was so funny I didn't think it was serious,” says Du'Sean Howard, owner of Jamaican Patty Company in Springfield, Missouri. “You know he can go out there sometimes, you know? That was one of those moments, that's one of the funniest things I've heard in my life; To be honest, I didn’t take it seriously,” Howard says.

After the debate, he received a phone call while working at the Jamaican Patty Company.

“I don’t think it would have had that big of an impact, you know,” Howard says.

When he discovered that words matter, his local business became the focus of the issue.

“Man, this thing can really get out of control,” Howard says.

Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Howard opened Jamaican Patty Company in South Campbell in 2017. Since then, he has built a solid following for his authentic Jamaican dishes. The bestseller is the Jamaican Patty, which is made from ground beef, jerk chicken, curry chicken and vegetables. Howard doesn't hesitate to take on-call orders.

“We take orders over the phone, put them out and have them ready for people when they come in,” Howard says.

When a call came in, he thought it was just someone placing an order.

“She starts accusing me of suing Trump,” Howard says.

The call came after the Haitian Bridge Alliance announced it had filed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance – alleging the two had made false and malicious comments about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.

“I told her that we are not Haitians, we are Jamaicans. She kind of backed out and then hung up after a while,” Howard says.

Later that evening, he made this social media post about a recent phone call.

“And I wrote it around 11:30 at night and I was supposed to be in bed at that point. But it just occurred to me to publish a post and I did. I can't tell you exactly what influenced me, other than the fact that I felt the need to put it out there, to just express it in some way,” says Howard.

Howard said he couldn't agree with the company's position, which is that it does not tolerate misinformation or frivolous attacks on our neighbors, he added.

“Let’s treat people the way we want to be treated. God help us,” Howard said. “You take the time to call our company, to harass us about something you heard.”

Howard says the community's support has meant a lot to him since he posted about it.

“People, especially in the Springfield community, really don’t support things like this. And they made it clear, and I'm glad they stood up and said we don't support that. This makes me feel better. Honestly, I feel like we’re a better community here,” Howard said.

And for those who repeat what they hear.

“What you do impacts another person, especially us, and has nothing to do with Springfield, Ohio,” Howard said.

For Howard, whose daughter helps at the restaurant, doing things right is important.

“You know, it's extremely important that your child watches you build a business and gets involved in it. It’s very rewarding,” says Howard.

Howard says the call appeared to come from a number in Missouri. He hopes the political rhetoric doesn't escalate and that what happened to his company shouldn't happen to any other company.

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