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SPRINGFIELD, United States: Government buildings and an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio were evacuated Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rattling the small US city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump.
Springfield has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story of Haitian migrants eating pets went viral on social media, with the Republican ex-president and current White House candidate pushing the narrative despite it being debunked.
Democrats have accused Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, of fanning racial tensions as they use the Springfield conspiracy theory to elevate immigration as a campaign issue ahead of November’s election.
The White House condemned the conspiracy theory on Thursday as “filth” and said they were endangering people’s lives.
“It is spreading filth that makes the lives of the communities that are being smeared here... it puts their lives in danger,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Despite local officials saying they had received no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten, Trump repeated the claim during his debate Tuesday against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Springfield police said in a statement that City Hall and several other government buildings had been evacuated after a bomb threat sent by email at 8:24 am (1224 GMT).
“Authorities investigated and cleared all facilities listed in the threat with the assistance of explosive detecting canines,” it said.
Fulton Elementary School and Springfield Academy of Excellence were also listed in the threat and evacuated, according to the statement.
“We are currently partnering with the Dayton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify the source of the email,” it added.
Arriving at the school to retrieve his child, Haitian immigrant Mackenso Roseme told AFP that the current tensions in the community were “worrying.”
“I’m a little stressed. I think something might happen,” he said.
A sign in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole informed Roseme and other parents that the students had been moved to a high school.
Mayor Rob Rue told the Springfield News-Sun that the person who sent the bomb threat claimed to be from the city and mentioned Haitian immigration issues.
Despite the bomb threats, Trump was still reposting memes related to the conspiracy theory hours later on his Truth Social platform.
He claimed Ohio was being “inundated with Illegal Migrants, mostly from Haiti, who are taking over Towns and Villages at a level and rate never seen before.”
Springfield, with a population of about 58,000, has seen an increase in Haitian immigrants in recent years — 10,000 to 15,000 according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Social services, schools and housing have been stressed in the city for years, with some pointing to migration as a factor.
A multiracial group of pastors called a press conference Thursday in Springfield, joining hands in prayer and calling on the community to come together.
“Today there were some things that happened, some threats of violence,” Wes Babian, a former pastor of First Baptist Church, told AFP.
“That is part of what motivated the quick calling of clergy to come together to express our support for the Haitian community and our concern for the well being of the entire community.”