Government buildings and an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio, were evacuated on Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rocking the small US city that is at the centre of an anti-immigrant conspiracy promoted by Donald Trump.
Springfield has been in the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story about Haitian immigrants eating pets went viral on social media, and the former Republican president and current White House candidate pushed the tale despite it being proven false.
Democrats have accused Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, of stoking racial tensions as they use the Springfield conspiracy theory to raise immigration as a campaign issue ahead of the November election.
Trump further escalated his rhetoric during a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday, saying that “migrants are taking the geese out of town.”
Shortly after mentioning Springfield in his speech, Trump said: “I am outraged by the way young American girls are being raped, sodomized and murdered by brutal criminal aliens,” though he gave no specifics.
Springfield officials said there were no credible reports of harm to pets by members of the immigrant community — allegations Trump also repeated in his debate against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.
The White House on Thursday denounced the claims, calling them “filth” and saying they were putting people’s lives at risk.
On Thursday, Springfield police said city hall and several other government buildings were evacuated after a bomb threat was sent by email at 8:24 a.m. (1224 GMT).
“Officers, with the assistance of explosive-sniffing dogs, inspected all facilities listed as at risk and evacuated them,” the force said in a statement.
Fulton Elementary School and Springfield Academy of Excellence were also placed on the at-risk list and were evacuated, according to the statement.
“We are partnering with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dayton office to determine the source of the emails,” it said.
– Tension in the community –
Mackenso Rosemé, a Haitian immigrant who arrived at the school to pick up his child, told AFP that the current tension in the community was “worrisome”.
“I’m a bit stressed. I feel something might happen,” he said.
A sign in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole informed Rosemy and other parents that the students had been transferred to the high school.
Mayor Rob Rue told the Springfield News-Sun that the person who sent the bomb threat described himself as a resident of the city and also mentioned Haiti’s immigration issues.
Despite the bomb threats, Trump was still reposting memes related to the conspiracy theory on his Truthout social platform several hours later.
He claimed that Ohio was “overflowing with illegal immigrants, most of them from Haiti, who were taking over towns and villages at a level and rate never seen before.”
Springfield, with a population of about 58,000, has seen a surge in the number of Haitian immigrants in recent years — the number has reached between 10,000 and 15,000, according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Social services, schools and housing in the city have been under pressure for many years, some attributed to migration.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine — who, like Trump, is a Republican — offered some insight into the situation in Springfield during an interview Thursday.
DeWine said 15,000 immigrants from Haiti live in Springfield, which is “a dramatic change” for the city, and he said they are there under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows foreign nationals to live and work in the United States.
“Why did they come? They came for a job,” DeWine told Fox News reporters. “There’s nothing wrong with welcoming us.”
A multiethnic group of pastors held a press conference in Springfield on Thursday where they joined hands in prayer and called on the community to come together.
“There were some incidents today, some threats of violence,” Wes Babian, former pastor of the First Baptist Church, told AFP.
“This is what inspired the clergy to come together to express their support for the Haitian community and their concern for the well-being of the entire community.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)