Threats Against Haitians in Ohio Heighten as Trump Claims Ignorance
Wittenberg University canceled all Sunday events after receiving a bomb threat targeting members of its Haitian community. The Springfield, Ohio, campus is just one of many institutions, including hospitals and elementary schools, that have been threatened after Donald Trump and J.D. Vance spread lies that Haitian immigrants are eating locals’ pets.
While the community is on high alert and residents fear for their safety, Trump claimed ignorance when asked to denounce the threats, telling reporters Saturday night, “I don’t know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it’s been taken over by illegal migrants, and that’s a terrible thing that happened.”
Reporter: Do you denounce the bomb threats in Springfield?
Trump: I don't know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it's been taken over by illegal migrants, and that's a terrible thing that happened. pic.twitter.com/1PnnSAhujK— Acyn (@Acyn) September 14, 2024
“Wittenberg University is currently taking extreme precautions following an email sent Saturday, Sept. 14, that threatened a potential shooting on-campus on Sunday, September 15, 2024,” the university said in a campus alert. “The message targeted Haitian members of our community.”
“Another local campus received the same threat,” the university said in an update to the initial alert.
Meanwhile, a woman who posted on Facebook one of the first claims that Haitians were eating pets admitted her post was false. “It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen,” Springfield resident Erika Lee told NBC News on Friday, acknowledging that she spread the rumor after she heard a third hand account of a missing cat from a neighbor.
“Look, there’s a lot of garbage on the internet and, you know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said Sunday. “There’s no evidence of this at all.”
Despite these threats that began after Trump made the false, racist accusation against Haitians during Tuesday’s presidential debate, both he and Vance continued to spread the lies throughout the week. At least three public schools evacuated students after Springfield Police Division issued a warning. Clark State College in Springfield closed its buildings on Thursday and Friday, and a local Catholic school dismissed students early Friday due to “safety threats of nearby locations.”
“Honestly, I don’t feel safe. It’s not good right now,” Jean-Patrick Louisius, a Haitian who immigrated to Springfield four years ago, told The New York Times.
Another Haitian resident of Springfield, told the paper, “We were already worn out from what is happening in Haiti. We didn’t come here for this.”
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