An Ohio city canceled a cultural festival after fears of fallout arose from the false claims perpetuated by former President Donald Trump about Haitian migrants eating pets.
The state's governor, Republican Mike DeWine, simultaneously announced increased protection at schools as he debunked the rumors that have been amplified by Trump , most notably at last week's presidential debate.
There has been no evidence of any pet-eating, he and local authorities in Springfield, Ohio, said. During a press conference in Springfield on Monday, DeWine added that dozens of members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be stationed at schools beginning on Tuesday in the region.
The increased protection follows a series of threats that cropped up across the city, which is just over 26 miles northwest of Dayton and just over 48 miles west of Columbus, after the false claims.
Bomb threats have been called in, which is part of the reason DeWine announced the increased protections. The Ohio State Highway Patrol officers will be sweeping each school building every morning before the arrival of students and faculty, using bomb-sniffing dogs in those buildings and around the city. More security cameras will be set up, too.
"We know that people are very, very concerned," DeWine said. "But we've moved resources into Springfield. People have the right to feel safe as well as being safe."
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Just last week, Springfield City Hall as well as several schools and state motor vehicle offices in Springfield were forced to evacuate last week after they received bomb threats. As many as 33 separate threats were made in recent days, and the number could be even higher.
All the threats were dubbed hoaxes, DeWine said during the press conference, adding that some of them came from overseas. He declined to comment on where they specifically came from.
"The people who are doing this are doing this to sow discord in our community," Andy Wilson, the director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said. "We just can't let them do that. We can't let them do that. We have to keep providing the services that the citizens of Springfield and Clark County expect."
The celebration that was canceled as a result of the threats and increased online vitriol directed at Springfield was meant to be an annual celebration of cultural diversity. It's not clear whether it will be rescheduled or just canceled altogether until next year. It was slated to begin on Sept. 27 and last for two days.
"We deeply regret having to cancel CultureFest, as we know it is a beloved event for our community," City Manager Bryan Heck told The Associated Press in a statement. "However, the safety of our residents and visitors must come first."
Classes at two colleges in the city were held virtually on Monday as well. Wittenberg University said it had received two threats over the weekend, "both of which were targeted toward members of the Haitian Community," and Clark State College said it would also be operating virtually through Friday "due to recent events in Springfield."
False claims of pet-eating first arose from a Facebook post from a concerned resident, who later retracted her statement and said she regretted it because she didn't realize the level of vitriol it would spark, especially from the former president and his running mate, junior Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Both have claimed that Haitian immigrants living in the community are stealing cats and dogs and even waterfowl from the surrounding area and eating them.
Erika Lee, the Springfield resident who made the post, told NBC News on Friday, "It just exploded into something I didn't mean to happen." She added that she's "not racist" and that it "was not [her] intent" to spark hate and vitriol from the post, which she chalked up to local gossip.
Lee is mixed race herself, and she said her daughter is half Black. "I feel for the Haitian community. If I was in the Haitians' position, I'd be terrified, too, worried that somebody's going to come after me because they think I'm hurting something that they love."
She concluded, "Again, that's not what I was trying to do." But Trump and Vance picked up on the rumors and continued to perpetuate them, with Trump making a bold, now-viral statement during the debate last Tuesday.
"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," the former president stated. "And this is what's happening in our country."
The audio has become a viral meme on TikTok, with pet owners filming their dogs' or cats' reactions to the statement. Many of the animals act shocked, and in one particularly hilarious TikTok, a cat sitting on its owner's bed launches itself at the TV as Trump speaks, hissing and growling at the former president.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the presidency (Trump is the Republican nominee) can be seen laughing on the split screen, rolling her eyes at Trump's false claims.
President Joe Biden, who was in Philadephia at the National HBCU Week Conference on Monday, addressed the situation in Springfield during a speech, condemning the "lies and hate" he said Trump and Vance are spreading. "It's wrong. It's simply wrong. And it must stop," he said.
On Monday, Springfield was a quiet place. Inside a Creole restaurant sat friends Bill Teager and Paul Gomia, who had driven over an hour to eat there as they sought to support a local Haitian-owned business.
Teager told The Associated Press, "We're both just incensed over the last week of what has happened to this town nationally and even locally." Springfield is home to thousands of Haitian immigrants, who have settled there in recent years.
The community of Springfield is predominantly white and blue-collar and boasts a population of about 60,000. The sudden influx of migrants has strained local schools and healthcare facilities as well as city services. The cost of housing has also risen significantly.
DeWine, during the press conference on Monday, said the city has challenges but that it's a "city that, frankly, is on the move." He added, "If you look where Springfield was 15 years ago, 10 years ago, even five years ago, we're moving." He didn't criticize Trump, however, adding that the Biden administration's record on immigration is a legitimate topic for debate, but he did point out that Haitians in Springfield are all there legally and under a federal program that allows them to remain in the country temporarily due to the conditions in Haiti, which have been deemed unsafe — they can't return.
"The companies hire them because they needed the help and they needed the support," DeWine said. "These are people who care about their families. These are people who value education. They are hard workers. And I think we should respect that."
Of the hateful rumors and vitriol, DeWine added, "These ... people who are spreading the hate need to move on. They need to go away. They need to stop it."
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