Overseas Threats Hit Ohio City Where Rumors Claimed Haitians Were Eating Pets

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio stationed state police at Springfield schools Tuesday in response to a rash of bomb threats — the vast majority that officials said came from overseas —- after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, have said Haitian immigrants in the small city were eating dogs and cats.

Schools, government buildings and elected officials' homes in Springfield were among the targets of more than 30 hoax threats made last week that forced evacuations and closures. Two more schools had to be evacuated on Monday. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said that a foreign actor was largely responsible, but he declined to name the country.

“The vast majority of the bomb threats came from foreign countries. Not 100%, but it’s the vast majority," Dan Tierney, DeWine's spokesperson, said Tuesday.

Tierney said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies yielded information on the origin of the bomb threats. He was not more specific on how investigators determined they came from a foreign country, nor would he reveal the name of the country, saying that could encourage additional threats.

“These are largely foreign actors, not folks in the community or another part of the United States,” he said. “We think it’s useful in part because it shows that it’s, you know, false, that it’s safe to send your kids to school. And we’re providing extra patrol support to make sure people feel safe at school.”

DeWine announced Monday that he was dispatching dozens of members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol to help keep schools open. Two highway patrol officers have been assigned to each of the Springfield City School District's 18 schools, said Jenna Leinasars, a district spokesperson.

“The troopers will conduct sweeps of the buildings for threats prior to school and sweep again, after school has ended. In between these sweeps, the troopers will be stationed at the building for the entire day,” she said.

State police were visible at a middle school Tuesday morning, with students dropped off as normal.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in recent years in the predominantly white, blue-collar city of about 60,000, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the state capital of Columbus, where they have found work in factories and warehouses that had been struggling to fill job openings. The sudden influx has strained schools, health care facilities and city services and driven up the cost of housing.

DeWine has called on the federal government to do more to help cities like Springfield but he and city officials have repeatedly debunked internet rumors that were amplified by Trump during last week's presidential debate and repeated by Vance.

City officials on Tuesday said the claims about Haitians had “significantly impacted our community, creating unnecessary fear, division and financial strain,” and disrupted schools.

“Unfounded claims, including sensational rumors, have led to increased expenses and monetary damages for the city, as we have been forced to allocate resources to address these falsehoods and maintain the peace and unity we work hard to foster,” said a statement released by Springfield spokesperson Karen Graves.

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Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania.