Bomb threats over the past week temporarily shut schools, businesses, two hospitals, and City Hall in Springfield, Ohio, after Donald Trump falsely told a national audience that Haitian immigrants there are stealing and eating pets. The Republican presidential candidate later announced he'll begin his promised mass deportations with the city's Haitians if he's elected, despite the fact that most of them are in the country legally. They, and their city, have been left shaken, the New York Times reports. "Honestly, I don't feel safe. It's not good right now," said Jean-Patrick Louisius, 40.
Little has happened to ease the dread. Sen. JD Vance, who started the firestorm though he represents the state in Congress, did not back down on Sunday, per the Washington Post. In an interview on CNN, Trump's running mate said that if he has to "create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do." The state's governor and another Republican, Mike DeWine, called the tale "a piece of garbage that was simply not true." Employers and neighborhoods have welcomed the Haitian immigrants, per the Times, though thousands of people arriving over a short period has put a strain on government services including schools.
Tensions already were building, which has caused some of the immigrants to keep a low profile. Others have left. "I'm not sure if I can stay in business" because of the departures, said Louisius, who owns a small Haitian market. He said he knows immigrants who have moved to larger cities, including Dayton or Columbus, where they might receive less attention. He didn't open his store on Thursday after seeing someone taking video of it. On Sunday, Central Christian Church invited Haitian residents to worship with its congregants.
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Viles Dorsainvil, a leader of the Haitian community, said she found the service therapeutic. "Jesus is with us in truth, and the truth is that Haitians are not eating pets and geese in Springfield," the Rev. Carl Ruby said in his homily, per the AP. He also called for a change in political rhetoric to restore peace. "We respectfully call on all politicians and media figures who are promoting this rumor to help make Springfield great and safe again by speaking the truth about our community," the pastor said. (More Election 2024 stories.)
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