Authorities in Springfield, Ohio, the city at the center of a recent migrant crisis, evacuated City Hall after they received multiple bomb threats, Spectrum News’ Taylor Popielarz reported Thursday.
Officials received a threat through e-mail at 8:24 a.m., according to a statement Spectrum News shared.
Officials said they had received threats to multiple facilities, according to the same statement.
According to a statement received by our @SpectrumNews1OH newsroom, City Hall in Springfield, Ohio, has been evacuated this morning due to a bomb threat.
This is the community former President Trump spoke about in Tuesday’s debate, falsely claiming Haitian migrants in… pic.twitter.com/4YWDeUcP9g
— Taylor Popielarz (@TaylorPopielarz) September 12, 2024
The authorities are conducting an investigation.
“Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our employees and residents. We are working to address this situation as swiftly as possible,” the statement reads.
Springfield became the center of a media maelstrom after reports from local residents surfaced alleging that Haitian migrants, who the Biden-Harris administration sent into the Columbus suburb with temporary protected status, were killing and eating local geese and town pets. (RELATED: ‘Illegal And Sickening’: American Duck Hunters Decry ‘Haitian Privilege’ Run Amok In Springfield, Ohio)
The city’s police department and city manager appeared to deny the claim, telling the Springfield News-Sun there have been “no reports related to pets being stolen and eaten.” Some of the town’s residents have claimed it is true.
The issue found its way onto the national stage when former President Donald Trump mentioned it during Tuesday night’s presidential debate.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
– Donald Trump on immigration during the presidential debate pic.twitter.com/0A6UEeAwtd
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 11, 2024
Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost appeared to push back, referencing a recorded police call in which a Springfield resident calls a non-emergency line about a group of Haitians with geese in their hands.
“There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council. These people would be competent witnesses in court. Why does the media find a carefully worded City Hall press release better evidence?” Yost wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter.
There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council.
These people would be competent witnesses in court.
Why does the media find a carefully worded City Hall press release better evidence?
— Attorney General Dave Yost (@DaveYostOH) September 11, 2024
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday he would be sending $2.5 million and a surge of Ohio Highway Patrolmen to the city to help deal with the ongoing crisis, according to WYSO.