COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine spoke in Springfield Monday, as repeated threats in the city shut down multiple buildings.
The governor confirmed law enforcement have investigated at least 33 separate bomb threats in the state. All of the threats have been determined to be hoaxes. But to better provide an assurance of safety, DeWine said he would dispatch 36 members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol to station them in “every school in Springfield.”
DeWine added that investigators had zeroed in on the origin of the threats, noting they came from overseas and all from the same country.
“We cannot let the bad guys win,” DeWine said. “Our schools must remain open.”
Springfield saw additional national attention again on Sunday, as Sen. J.D. Vance didn’t back down discussing its legal immigrant population and a string of bomb threats in the area. On Monday, one of those threats extended to Columbus, as the Ohio Statehouse closed all of its garage entrances around 10 a.m.
Law enforcement gathers Sept. 16, 2024 at the Ohio Statehouse. (NBC4 Photo/Natalie Fahmy)
Vance, an Ohio Republican and the vice presidential hopeful alongside Donald Trump, made an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” where he readdressed issues he took with around 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants who legally moved to Springfield under temporary protected status. As national attention to the city grew, DeWine, said he wasn’t against the federal program that brought them and added he would send aid in response to concerns about strain on the local healthcare systems and traffic.
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said. “If I have 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.”
Vance zeroed in on rumors that the immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in the town. On Saturday, he shared an X video posted by a conservative activitist claiming to show proof of migrants grilling a cat to eat in Ohio. Both parties acknowledged the video came not from Springfield but Dayton, and the latter city’s mayor came forward within hours against it.
“This claim is totally false and dangerously irresponsible of politicians aiming to sow division and fear,” Mayor Jeffrey Mims wrote on X. “There has been absolutely zero reports of this type of activity, and spreading such misinformation undermines our status as a welcoming city.”
Trump, who on Sunday faced what the FBI is investigating as an apparent second assassination attempt, repeated similar claims in his Tuesday debate with the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
DeWine broke step with the presidential and vice presidential candidates, telling ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday he had “absolutely not” seen any evidence that Haitian immigrants were eating pets. And Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the city had no verifiable instances of immigrants eating pets or local wildlife, and instead asked, “As a human being, can you imagine being talked about like this?”
“What we’re doing is we’re letting these rumors, this national rhetoric come into our community and divide us. And like we said earlier, there are things we need to focus on,” Rue said. “But because we’re focusing on X posts and Facebook posts and trying to squash those rumors, it takes a lot of time to getting the truth back.”
While the mayor and governor have tried to set the record straight, Springfield has been greeted with repeated threats. At a Thursday news conference, Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliot confirmed multiple buildings such as city hall, a local Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices and two schools closed as a result of an emailed bomb threat. On Friday, NBC News reported two more public schools and city buildings closed over bomb threats. Saturday saw a bomb threat against two hospitals in the city, forcing both to lock down.
Another emailed bomb threat late Saturday prompted Clark State College staff to close the campus down Sunday through Friday, opting for virtual classes instead. Wittenberg University, a private college in Springfield, canceled in-person activities and told students it would only hold remote classes Monday after receiving a threat of a school shooting Saturday and another emailed bomb threat on Sunday.
“Both messages targeted members of our local Haitian community,” Wittenberg officials wrote on the university’s website.
A Springfield city spokesperson told the Associated Press that the FBI’s Dayton office was investigating where the emailed threats were coming from.
When interviewer Dana Bash pressed Vance on creating stories and the bomb threats, he replied that his claims about pets come “from firsthand accounts from my constituents.”
“I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it,” Vance said. “There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals. These hospitals, the bomb threats, and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence.”
Vance did not repeat his message that a Haitian immigrant murdered a student in the area, after the child’s father spoke against the vice presidential candidate’s use of his son for “political gain.” When Bush played the audio of what Aiden Clark’s father said, Vance replied he wanted to focus on the “terrible things” his constituents reported, including overwhelmed hospitals and schools, and a heightened murder rate.
“I can’t believe what kind of a tragedy they’ve experienced, but I’m still going to keep on talking about what the migrants have done to Springfield, Ohio, and what Kamala Harris’ open border has done to Springfield, Ohio,” Vance said.
