Overseas threats hit city where Trump, Vance lies slandered Haitians
Published:Wednesday | September 18, 2024 | 12:07 AM
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, Senator JD Vance falsely said legal 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 Governor 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 per cent, but it’s the vast majority,” Dan Tierney, DeWine’s spokesperson, said Tuesday.
‘Safe to send kids to school’
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.