Continued threats force school evacuations in Springfield, Ohio
Threats against the Ohio town where Donald Trump accused Haitian immigrants of stealing and eating people’s pets continued Friday, forcing the evacuation of several schools and public facilities.
Cliff Park High School, Roosevelt Middle School, Perrin Woods Elementary and Snowhill Elementary were all closed as a precaution, according to Cincinnati station WLWT.
Springfield City Hall, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Southside also reportedly sat dark after emails were received at 7:45 a.m. threatening those locations.
An earlier email at 7:21 a.m. allegedly also targeted several city commissioners and a city employee.
The alarming messages came a day after bomb threats triggered the evacuation of Springfield City Hall and nearby buildings.
It wasn’t clear as of Friday evening if all the menacing communications came from the same person or were related in any way.
Republican presidential candidate Trump claimed during Tuesday’s debate that Haitian migrants in Springfield were devouring domesticated animals belonging to the locals.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump 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.”
When confronted by moderators, who told him Springfield’s city manager confirmed the town had no credible reports to back up those claims, Trump doubled down, telling them he’d seen it on TV.
The 78-year-old’s remarks were no joke to Springfield residents, who were cast into the national spotlight following the outrageous claims, which were later promoted by his surrogates.
Springfield native and award-winning singer John Legend pleaded for cooler heads to prevail in a video posted online Friday.
“Nobody’s eating cats,” the EGOT winner said. “Nobody’s eating dogs. We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment.”
Legend explained that because of the turmoil in Haiti and jobs that became available in Springfield in recent years, the city has seen an influx of Haitians coming to Ohio to work. But he hasn’t encountered those migrants dining on pets.
