Bomb threat in city at heart of Trump false immigration claims sparks evacuation

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The government of Springfield, Ohio, said it evacuated its city hall on Thursday due to a bomb threat, two days after Donald Trump repeated a false claim that put the city at the center of a national debate over immigration.

"Due to a bomb threat that was issued to multiple facilities throughout Springfield today, City Hall is closed today," the city government said on social media.

Officials did not say whether the bomb threat was prompted by Trump's false claim.

Several police cars were stationed outside the city hall, which otherwise showed no signs of disruption.

The small city of 62,000 has been in the national spotlight after Republican politicians, including former president Trump, falsely claimed that immigrants were eating dogs and cats. City officials say there have been no reports of anybody eating pets.

Roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants have come to the city in recent years, boosting the local economy but also straining schools and other social services. Wages have surged and local officials say crime has not risen.

Haitian American community leaders say they fear for their safety after Trump said during Tuesday's debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris that "they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats."

It is the latest in a long line of falsehoods that have defined the Republican candidate's political career.

The rumor appears to have first surfaced in social media posts that said immigrants were eating missing household pets. The author of the post, Erika Lee, told Reuters she wrote it after hearing from a neighbor.

That neighbor, Kimberly Newton, told Reuters she had heard it from a friend, who heard it from another friend, who heard it from an acquaintance. It was unclear whether that person had witnessed the alleged incident directly.

Trump's running mate JD Vance, who represents Ohio in the US Senate, also has repeated the smear about Haitian immigrants, who are in the US legally and authorized to work.

On Thursday, he said Haitian immigrants are degrading the quality of life in Springfield. "[In] communities like Springfield, Ohio, where you have 20,000 Haitians who have come in, housing costs are unaffordable, communicable diseases are on the rise, and people can't afford to live a good life in this small Ohio town," he said on CNBC.

A 2021 study by the libertarian Cato Institute found that Haitian immigrants are more likely to be employed than native-born Americans and also more likely to live in poverty. — Reuters