Ohio city faces bomb threats after Trump debate comments

Donald Trump has continued to disparage Haitian migrants in an Ohio community, even as the city saw bomb threats and school evacuations with local officials calling for a cooling of the anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio,” Mr Trump said on Friday during a news conference in California.

He said he could possibly hold a campaign event or town hall in the city and claiming the migrants are “destroying the way of life.”

Ohio authorities have said there are no credible or detailed reports to support the debunked allegations circulated this week by both Mr Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, that Haitian immigrants are eating domestic pets and birds in the city’s public parks.

Mr Trump mentioned the claims during a debate on Tuesday with his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, prompting her to laugh and call the Republican presidential nominee “extreme.”

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue on Thursday called on politicians to calm down the rhetoric.

“All these federal politicians that have negatively spun our city, they need to know they’re hurting our city, and it was their words that did it,” Mr Rue said in an interview with WSYX.

A city spokesperson said an emailed threat claimed bombs had been planted in the homes of Springfield’s mayor and other city officials. A second email claimed bombs had been placed at locations including Springfield City Hall, a high school, a middle school, two elementary schools and the local office of the state motor vehicles bureau.

The buildings were evacuated and authorities with explosive-detection dogs swept and cleared them, officials said.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said the Haitian community is “under attack” and called for an end to Republicans’ comments.

“It’s simply wrong. There’s no place in America,” Mr Biden said at a White House luncheon. “This has to stop, what he’s doing. It has to stop.”

Mr Trump suggested local officials are not being truthful about the problem because of its severity.

While he stated the “real threat” of immigration is happening at the Southern border, he said: “The people of Ohio are scared.”

In a post on X on Friday, Mr Vance stated, without evidence, that Springfield has experienced “a massive rise in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime”.

“Don’t let biased media shame you into not discussing this slow-moving humanitarian crisis in a small Ohio town,” he said.

Mr Vance repeated those claims in another X post later on Friday, although he added: “Nothing justifies violence or the threat of violence levied against Springfield or its residents. We condemn both.”

Mr Trump and his supporters have used the furore over migrants in the Ohio community to draw further attention to Mr Trump’s signature campaign issue of immigration reform and blame Harris for an influx of migrants into the US. It is a theme Mr Trump has used throughout his bids for public office.

The situation surrounding Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 located west of Columbus, started with an online post that was fueled by right-wing actors on social media.

Springfield has seen its Haitian population grow in recent years. It is impossible to give an exact number, according to the city, but it estimates that Springfield’s entire county has an overall immigrant population of 15,000.

The city also says that Haitian immigrants are in the country legally under a federal programme that allows them to remain in the country temporarily.

Last month, the Biden administration granted eligibility for temporary legal status to about 300,000 Haitians already in the United States because conditions in Haiti are considered unsafe for them to return.

Haiti’s government has extended a state of emergency to the entire country due to endemic gang violence.

Following Mr Vance’s initial post, the internet was filled with AI-generated imagery of Mr Trump appearing to rescue dogs, cats and birds from harm, with Mr Trump posting several of the memes to his own Truth Social account.

Mr Trump repeated the claim during Tuesday’s debate.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” he said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”

Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are not true.