2 Elementary Schools Evacuated in Springfield, Ohio After Vance, Trump Push Racist Conspiracy Theory

On Friday, two different elementary schools in Springfield, Ohio, were evacuated, and one middle school was closed for the day, as the city faces a string of violent threats stemming from GOP politicians and influencers pushing a baseless, right-wing rumor. ABC News stressed that it wasn’t clear if Friday’s evacuations were due to a new threat, or due to the bomb threats that were emailed “to multiple agencies and media outlets” on Thursday morning. The outlet also noted that the source of these threats isn’t yet clear.

Officials are continuing to investigate, but the timing speaks for itself: The threats were sent after Donald Trump and JD Vance spent the week campaigning on a racist conspiracy theory that Haitian residents in the small town are stealing and eating their neighbors’ pets. 

The lie emerged from a Facebook post from a right-wing account last week, later pushed by neo-Nazis on Twitter. The original post in question seems to allude to an August incident in Canton, Ohio—200 miles away from Springfield—involving a resident who was arrested for killing and attempting to eat a cat. (The woman is a citizen.) There’s no evidence whatsoever of Haitian migrants stealing or harming people’s pets, and Springfield police say they haven’t received any such reports. Ohio’s GOP Governor, Mike DeWine, also told reporters on Wednesday that the rumors had “no credible evidence.” Nonetheless, Haitian residents and all of Springfield now appear to be facing the violent consequences of Republicans’ gross fearmongering.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said at Tuesday’s presidential debate. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” Before that, on Monday, Vance chose to inject the baseless rumor into the political mainstream, posting that “Haitian illegal immigrants” are “draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” also citing nonexistent “reports” that “show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” By Tuesday, Vance conceded that “it’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.” 

Haitian parents kept kids home from school today in Springfield for fear of safety. Springfield local government building had a bomb threat and the people had to evacuate. This should be disqualifying. Instead MSM will give him a pass and sanewash him again. https://t.co/dJwQRyAXS1

— Dr. Shannon, Mistress of Shenanigans (@shay3322) September 12, 2024

In addition to the evacuations of the two elementary schools, on Thursday, Springfield City Hall employees were forced to evacuate after receiving bomb threats. The city didn’t confirm whether the threats were related to the racist smear campaign against Haitian residents, but “authorities are currently conducting a thorough investigation.” 

On Wednesday, the Haitian Times reported apparent hate crimes against Haitian residents in Springfield, including one woman who said the windows of her car were broken and that someone threw acid on the vehicle. “I’m going to have to move because this area is no longer good for me,” she said. “I can’t even leave my house to go to Walmart. I’m anxious and scared.” One parent told the outlet, “People are very afraid for their lives. Many families are starting to think of leaving Springfield after last night and some kids aren’t even going to school because of fear of being attacked.” 

Some Haitian families are keeping their children home for their safety, and one woman says she had her car vandalized, in the wake of the GOP’s repeated racist anti-Haitian rhetoric https://t.co/9pDKqKQ9mv pic.twitter.com/AcTAjU00Xl

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 12, 2024

After Vance poured gasoline on the fire with his social media posts this week, other Republicans and highly visible right-wingers like Twitter owner Elon Musk followed suit: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shared a meme depicting two cats with the caption, “PLEASE VOTE FOR TRUMP SO HAITIAN MIGRANTS DON’T EAT US.” Another viral post shared by the House Judiciary Committee’s official GOP account featured an AI-generated image of Trump gently cradling a duck and a kitten while wearing a suit and standing in a lake. On Monday, Musk quote-tweeted another post, lying that “20,000 non-citizen Haitians” are destroying a town in Ohio, with the caption, “Vote for Kamala if you want this to happen to your neighborhood!”

Again, Springfield police say they haven’t received any reports of pet-eating, and that the allegations in the viral Facebook post are “not something that’s on our radar right now.”

My latest for @NBCNightlyNews: Multiple bomb threats led authorities in Springfield, OH to evacuate buildings. It’s unclear if the threats are connected with the baseless claims about Haitians abusing pets that WH @PressSec called “very hateful smear.” pic.twitter.com/AwgUWu90BK

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 13, 2024

During the covid pandemic, manufacturing and warehouse jobs drew a wave of some 20,000 Haitian migrants to the small, mostly white community of Springfield. Most of them have legal immigration status, work authorization, and valid Social Security numbers—though, that shouldn’t matter. Despite their legal immigration status, Republicans simply wish to stoke fear about Haitian migrants’ growing numbers in a once predominantly white, working-class community—and to smear Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s program to offer temporary protected status to Haitian migrants.

As Republicans fearmonger about made-up crime and violence perpetrated by Haitian migrants in Springfield, it’s their own lies that are now causing just that.