Children across Springfield, Ohio, arrived at school Tuesday morning to the sight of state troopers, deployed by the governor after a wave of bomb scares rattled the community.
Gov. Mike DeWine sent the state officers to the city to reassure the community that the schools were safe and to avoid the evacuations of threatened schools that have disrupted learning over the last week.
The threats began last week after Donald J. Trump mentioned Springfield during the presidential debate, repeating a baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in the city were abducting and eating household pets.
Since then, 34 bomb threats have targeted city schools, most recently on Tuesday when a threat was directed at the high school, a spokeswoman said. But in contrast to Monday, when two elementary schools were evacuated because of threats, the high school was not evacuated.
The threats have shaken the city and disrupted school for thousands of students. The deployment of 36 troopers to the city was intended to allay anxieties and ensure that students could focus on learning. The troopers were stationed at the 17 public schools and at a school district transportation depot.
At Snowhill Elementary, Trooper Andrew Sliwoski was posted outside the building. “We are happy to be here to help,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, though, that we have to be here.”
Dan Persinger, 37, who had just dropped off his two children at Snowhill, said he appreciated the police presence. “Tension has been high, and people are nervous,” Mr. Persinger said.
Even before Mr. Trump mentioned the rumor during the presidential debate, his running mate, JD Vance, had promoted the rumors that Haitians in Springfield were eating pets — claims that city officials have repeatedly refuted.
Thousands of Haitians have settled in Springfield since the Covid-19 pandemic to fill jobs in the area. Mr. Vance, Ohio’s junior senator, had cited the city in recent months to criticize the Biden administration’s border policies because the newcomers have put pressure on social services, clinics and schools.
Governor DeWine, who visited Springfield on Tuesday for the second time this week, has said that investigators have determined that many of the bomb threats originated outside the United States.
In a statement, the Springfield City School District’s superintendent, Dr. Bob Hill, denounced the threats and the effects on students. “Our students, staff and school community do not deserve to have their daily schedules disrupted by senseless threats of violence,” he said.
Higher education institutions in Springfield also have endured threats and disruptions.
Classes at Wittenberg University were held remotely on Monday after a spate of threats by email that targeted the Haitian community, according to a statement from the liberal-arts college.
Clark State College also announced that classes would be held remotely and all activities rescheduled this week after it received threats.
The city said on Monday that it would cancel an annual festival, called CultureFest, planned for Sept. 27 and 28, over safety concerns.
Mr. Vance, who first repeated the rumors, said on CNN over the weekend that he had received many “firsthand” accounts from his constituents.
He rejected any suggestion that by repeating the falsehoods he had helped prompt the threats, and he said that he condemned violence.
“All that I’ve done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’s policies,” he said. “Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence?”
Later, Mr. 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.”
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