Donald Trump, during Tuesday’s presidential debate, repeated a baseless and sensationalist claim about Haitian immigrants in Ohio allegedly eating dogs and other pets.
Trump’s remarks have provided intolerant individuals with a clear target and intensified existing animosity. The claims about Haitian immigrants were initially spread online in August on platforms used by far-right extremists and by Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi hate group.
“The president is talking about it now,” one member of Blood Tribe wrote on Gab, a social network popular with the far right. “This is what real power looks like.”
Maria Bruno of Ohioans Against Extremism, a non-profit founded last month in part due to the rising presence of extremists in Ohio, said, “They are thrilled that there are politicians willing to echo their talking points.”
Here’s how residents of Springfield have been affected as the Republican candidates continue to double down on these false claims and embolden extremists.
Bomb Threats
The baseless rumors have left Springfield residents understandably fearful of violence and discrimination. By Friday—just three days after the presidential debate—bomb threats had led to the evacuation and closure of public schools and municipal buildings for a second consecutive day.
Students at Perrin Woods and Snowhill Elementary Schools in Springfield “were evacuated from their buildings to an alternate district location,” said school district spokesperson Jenna Leinasars. Roosevelt Middle School was “closed prior to the beginning of the school day” based on information from the Springfield Police Department, Leinasars added.
In addition to the school evacuations, several city commissioners and a municipal employee were targeted by an emailed bomb threat, according to city spokesperson Karen Graves. A second email threatened multiple locations, including Springfield City Hall, Cliff Park High School, Perrin Woods Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Ohio License Bureau Southside, Graves said. Local police and FBI agents in Dayton are working “to determine the origin of these email threats,” the city official added.
On Saturday, nearby Wittenberg University canceled all on-campus activities for the following day after receiving a threat of a potential shooting targeting the Haitian community.
Ohio Governor and Springfield Mayor Address False Claims
In response to the recent influx of around 15,000 Haitians, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) plans to send additional law enforcement to Springfield and allocate $2.5 million in health care aid.
In an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition, DeWine stated that the stories about Haitian migrants eating pets have “no credible evidence.”
“If you talk to people, particularly those working with the Haitians, they will tell you that they are very hard workers,” DeWine said. “We had one person recently say, ‘I wish I had 100 more working for me.’ Look, these are good people. The people in Springfield are good people.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue echoed this sentiment in an appearance on MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports on Friday. “Springfield is a beautiful community, and your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio,” Rue said. “We’ve made that known publicly, and we’re asking people to understand and believe the reports that we’re sharing with them,” Rue added.
The mayor also called for an end to the misinformation. “We need those with a national platform and millions of followers to understand the impact their words have on cities like Springfield, Ohio,” Rue said. “What we need is help, not this misinformation.”
