By Miriam Jordan
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced Monday that he was deploying state troopers to the beleaguered city of Springfield to reassure the community that schools are safe despite a wave of bomb threats.
The threats began last week after Donald Trump mentioned Springfield during the presidential debate, repeating a baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in the city were abducting and eating household pets.
Since then, 33 bomb threats have targeted city schools, most recently on Monday when two elementary schools were evacuated as a result of threats, DeWine said. City Hall and two hospitals have also been targeted.
At a news conference, DeWine said that none of the bomb threats so far had “any validity at all.”
But the threats have shaken the city and disrupted school for thousands of students. The deployment of a contingent of 36 troopers, beginning Tuesday, is intended to allay anxieties and ensure that students can focus on school.
“We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know that their kids are safe,” the governor said. “The added security will help ease some of the fears caused by these hoaxes.”
Even before Trump mentioned the rumor during the presidential debate, his running mate, JD Vance, had promoted the rumors about Haitians in Springfield eating pets — claims that city officials have repeatedly refuted.
Thousands of Haitians have settled in Springfield since the COVID-19 pandemic to fill jobs in the area. Vance, Ohio’s junior senator, had cited the city in recent months to criticize the Biden administration’s border policies because the newcomers have put pressure on social services, clinics and schools.
DeWine said the troopers would be at 17 school buildings as of Tuesday and would check all school sites before the start of classes and stay on campus throughout the day and after dismissal.
He said investigators had determined that many of the threats were originating outside the United States.
“Many of these threats are coming in from overseas, made by those who want to fuel the current discord surrounding Springfield,” DeWine said in a statement. “We cannot let the bad guys win.”
In a statement, the Springfield City School District’s superintendent, Dr. Bob Hill, denounced the threats and the effects on students. “Our students, staff and school community do not deserve to have their daily schedules disrupted by senseless threats of violence,” he said.
Higher education institutions in Springfield also have endured threats and disruptions.
Classes at Wittenberg University were held remotely Monday after a spate of threats by email that targeted the Haitian community, according to a statement from the liberal-arts college.
Clark State College also announced that classes would be held remotely and all activities rescheduled this week after it received threats.
The city said Monday that it would cancel an annual festival, called CultureFest, planned for Sept. 27-28, over safety concerns.
Vance, who first repeated the rumors, said on CNN over the weekend that he had received many “firsthand” accounts from his constituents.
He rejected any suggestion that by repeating the falsehoods he had helped prompt the threats, and he said that he condemned violence.
“All that I’ve done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’ policies,” he said. “Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence?”
Later, Vance, said, “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
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