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Blue state councilman mocked after claiming self-driving cars are 'murdering' pets: 'Hide your cats'

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Miller, A., & McDonald, K. (2026, October 3). Blue state councilman mocked after claiming self-driving cars are 'murdering' pets: 'Hide your cats'. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blue-state-councilman-mocked-claiming-self-driving-cars-murdering-pets-hide-your-cats

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-03 · by Andrew Miller, Kiera McDonald

Quick Summary

Minneapolis City Councilmember Jason Chavez drew ridicule after claiming Waymo self-driving cars were killing pets, particularly cats. During a meeting, Chavez urged officials to require human drivers in autonomous vehicles for safety reasons. His comments sparked criticism on social media, with users questioning the focus on cat deaths over other city issues and suggesting it was a misuse of public funds. Mayor Jacob Frey later announced plans to veto the proposed ordinance, citing concerns about stifling technological innovation.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Minneapolis, Jason Chavez, a city council member, sparked ridicule online by claiming that self-driving cars made by Waymo are killing cats. During a council meeting, Chavez asserted, "I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles," urging officials to require human operators in the vehicles for safety reasons. The ordinance proposing this requirement narrowly passed but faces potential veto from Mayor Jacob Frey, who supports innovative technology and believes mandating human operators would make little sense. Chavez's statements were met with widespread mockery on social media, with many jokingly advising cat owners to take precautions.

Written for “Self Driving Cars And Pets” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Self Driving Cars And Pets
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6507 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Miller
45 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Kiera McDonald
25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The group is asking the state to take "additional corrective action," warning it "may have no other recourse" but to appeal through the complaint process under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a 2002 election reform law, if nothing is done.
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🔮 Last month, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-backed bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks, arguing it wasn’t strong enough.
🔮 A Minnesota state Senate candidate revealed she found several vulnerabilities in a fraud prevention law signed by Gov. Tim Walz after testing it against the state’s previous fraud scandals to see whether it could have caught them sooner.
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Also by Kiera McDonald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Kiera McDonald →

Topics

Minneapolis Minnesota The Minneapolis City Council Townhall Waymo

Subjects

Minneapolis GPE · 5× Chavez PERSON · 3× Waymo ORG · 3× Fox News Digital ORG · 2× Frey PERSON · 1× Jacob Frey PERSON · 1× Jason Chavez PERSON · 1× Minnesota GPE · 1× The Minneapolis City Council ORG · 1× Townhall ORG · 1×

Narrative

As Waymo vehicles with rooftop sensors and empty seats become a more common sight, supporters argue requiring a human operator would effectively ban autonomous taxi services and result in higher fares, while opponents insist the technology poses safety risks and takes away jobs.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
🔮 "I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles," Jason Chavez said to his fellow council members.

Claims (24 extracted, 0 hedged)

One Minneapolis city council member prompted widespread mockery on social media after going to bat for "cat lovers," claiming Waymo cars are killing cats and urging officials to require humans in the self-driving vehicles. asserted
cars → prompt → vehicles
"I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles," Jason Chavez said to his fellow council members. asserted
Chavez → say → members
"I have a cat, I don't want my cat getting killed because of these autonomous vehicles so to those cat lovers out there, just know that these Waymo vehicles, these autonomous vehicles have killed cats and that's unfair. asserted
that → have → cats
I just watched a video sitting here from the dais and it was really hard to watch. asserted
it → watch → dais
Literally cats being murdered by these vehicles." asserted
cats → murder → vehicles
The ordinance, which narrowly passed on Thursday, would mandate a human operator and a special license for all autonomous vehicles. asserted
which → pass → vehicles
But its future remains uncertain. asserted
future → remain → ?
Mayor Jacob Frey announced he plans to veto the proposal in a statement to multiple Minnesota outlets, saying it "doesn't make sense" and the city will continue its efforts to embrace "innovative technology," including transportation options. asserted
city → announce → options
Despite acknowledging the safety concerns, Frey added he would not support a "backdoor ban" of the vehicles. asserted
he → acknowledge → vehicles
As Waymo vehicles with rooftop sensors and empty seats become a more common sight, supporters argue requiring a human operator would effectively ban autonomous taxi services and result in higher fares, while opponents insist the technology poses safety risks and takes away jobs. asserted
technology → become → jobs
Social media users were quick to pile on Chavez's remarks about the potential threat to cats, accusing him of blowing the issue out of proportion and shifting focus from more pressing priorities in Minneapolis. asserted
users → pile → Minneapolis
"The Minneapolis City Council wants to require a human in driverless vehicles because cats are being 'murdered' by them," Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. asserted
Grage → want → X.
Grage took more swipes at Chavez in separate X posts, writing, "They're calling it the cat genocide" and, "Hide your cats. asserted
They → take → cats
The Waymos are coming." asserted
Waymos → come → ?
In another post on X, conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman wrote, "LOL! MINNEAPOLIS HAS FOUND ITS REAL CRISIS, AND IT'S ROBOT CARS 'MURDERING' CATS." asserted
IT → write → CATS
Eagleman also argued the city should be addressing larger issues such as crime and fraud, describing the situation as a sign of failed leadership. " asserted
city → argue → leadership
A council member in a city that let rioters burn down a police precinct and watched a $250 million fraud scheme happen under its nose now wants a human in every driverless car to protect the cats," he wrote. asserted
he → let → cats
"He's pulling down $110,000 a year of taxpayer money to say this with a straight face. asserted
He → pull → face
Minneapolis doesn't have a driverless car problem. asserted
Minneapolis → have → problem
It has a leadership problem. asserted
It → have → problem
" "They're driving over the cats, they're driving over the dogs!" asserted
they → drive → dogs
Fox News Digital columnist David Marcus posted on X. "Why is a city council member making 110,000 when families and seniors are getting priced out of their homes in Minneapolis and taxes are sky rocking????? asserted
taxes → post → Minneapolis
Three Rivers Park Commissioner Jennifer DeJournett posted on X. "Fwiw I've been in a self-driving Tesla that stopped for cats to cross the road and Waymo is a lot more advanced," journalist Zaid Jilani posted on X. "My FSD Tesla avoids animals on the road. asserted
Tesla → post → road
He is full of it," Dealer Teamwork CEO and co-founder Sean Stapleton posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Chavez for comment. asserted
Digital → post → comment
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