At least 33 bomb threats have been made in Springfield, Ohio, since false claims — which were pushed by former President Donald Trump and his running mate — surfaced about Haitian migrants eating people’s pets, the governor said.
All of the threats have been determined to be hoaxes. Some targeted Springfield schools, including elementary campuses, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday at a news conference after meeting with city officials.
“Our children deserve to be in school. Parents deserve to feel that their children are being educated and that their children are safe,” DeWine said.
Last week, schools in the city of around 58,000 were evacuated after bomb threats. City Hall also received a threat against city facilities.
The threats come in the days after Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, spread online a false claim that Haitian migrants were causing problems in Springfield and that “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Trump repeated the false claim — which has been denied by city officials and police — on stage at the ABC presidential debate the next day.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said at the debate.
Springfield police said they have no credible reports of immigrants harming people's pets.
Mayor Rob Rue called it "a lie" that is being repeated...
Two social media about the human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are being shared, which have gathered views in millions when this story was being written, mainly on Meta's image and video sharing platform...