Republicans have a dog-killing problem.

Just a few short months after Kristi Noem’s graphic tale about shooting her 14-month-old puppy in the head hit bookshelves as part of her panned autobiography, the mastermind behind Project 2025 finds himself in a similar controversy.

Kevin Roberts, who serves as president of the Heritage Foundation, arguably the most influential right-wing think tank in the U.S., allegedly boasted to former colleagues and dinner guests about how he once ended the life of a neighbor’s pit bull with a shovel.

The Guardian has the sordid details, with multiple sources alleging they heard about the violent act either from Roberts directly or people whom Roberts told. The apparent crime happened around 2004, when Roberts was a history professor at New Mexico State University.

Kenneth Hammond, who was chair of the university’s history department at the time, says Roberts told his terrible tale with no inhibitions.

“My recollection of his account was that he was discussing in the hallway with various members of the faculty, including me, that a neighbor’s dog had been barking pretty relentlessly and was, you know, keeping the baby and probably the parents awake and that he kind of lost it and took a shovel and killed the dog,” he said.

Two other people–another professor and their spouse–confirmed Hammonds’ account. Another former colleague, Marsha Weisiger, recalls Roberts sharing the story when he invited her and her husband over for dinner.

“My husband and I were stunned. First of all, that he would do such a thing. And second of all, that he would tell us about it. If I did something horrific, I would not be telling my colleagues about it,” she said.

Weisiger also alleges that Roberts confessed he dreamed of killing his neighbor’s puppies, too…

Related*

News of Roberts’ alleged animal cruelty come as Trump, JD Vance and other Republicans hype up racist falsehoods about Haitian migrants killing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Trump ranted and raved about the fake story at this month’s debate, while Vance admitted he’s willing to spread lies about immigrants in order to prove a point.

The racist claims have enflamed tensions in the city, and spurred 33 reported threats to school, government buildings and other venues. The city manager, a Republican, has called on the lies to stop.

“To be thrust into the national rhetoric of a highly heated presidential election cycle has just made it very difficult,” Bryan Heck told PBS. It’s really unfortunate that our residents have had to endure the impact that they have, especially based off of false claims and false narrative that we have seen here during this presidential election cycle.”

Trump’s deranged ranting about pet-eating was one of the biggest takeaways from the debate, with search interest in the topic spiking. Another line that caught viewers’ eyes was a reference Kamala Harris made in regards to Project 2025. Search interest in the term increased by 800%!

A right-wing fever dream, the policy manifesto calls for severe federal restrictions on abortion and the elimination of LGBTQ+ rights and protections. Trump claims he knows nothing about the document, despite the longstanding ties between the Heritage Foundation and members of his campaign, including Vance, his #2.

The antigay senator wrote a 1,091-word forward to Roberts’ book, in which he compares Democrats to “wolves” who must be killed (among many other bizarre metaphors).

Roberts apparently felt the same vengeful feelings towards his neighbor’s dog. While he denied killing the dog in a statement, he didn’t specifically address his colleagues’ disturbing claims.

“This is a patently untrue and baseless story backed by zero evidence. In 2004, a neighbor’s chained pit bull attempted to jump a fence into my backyard as I was gardening with my young daughter. Thankfully, the owner arrived in time to restrain the animal before it could get loose and attack us,” he wrote. (His colleagues say Roberts never told them the pit bull harmed him or his family.)

The neighbor, Daniel Aran, told the Guardian he can’t prove Roberts harmed any of his dogs. However, one of his pit bulls, named Loca, did disappear from his house around 2004.

“I had one female, and that was her. She was a little, little thing like this,” he said. “She was a tiny, cute little thing.

“She went missing, we never could find her.”

Studies show, by the way, there is a correlation between animal abuse and psychopathy.

FWIW…

Related*

Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated