(The Center Square) – Ohio State Troopers began providing security at Springfield schools Tuesday after a week of false allegations leveled against Haiti refugees and nearly 40 bomb threats.
On Monday, two elementary schools evacuated students in the latest threat to colleges, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools throughout the city.
In response, second-term Republican Gov. Mike DeWine sent 36 troopers to the school district’s 18 buildings to provide safety for students, teachers and parents. DeWine also asked troopers to check each school in the system daily before students arrive on campus.
There are 67,000 students in the Springfield school district.
“Many of these threats are coming in from overseas, made by those who want to fuel the current discord surrounding Springfield. We cannot let the bad guys win,” DeWine said. “We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know that their kids are safe. The added security will help ease some of the fears caused by these hoaxes.”
DeWine also asked Ohio Homeland Security to start vulnerability assessments on critical infrastructure in Springfield and provide tower cameras for use by the Springfield Police Department.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety has also arranged for bomb detection dogs to be stationed in Springfield daily.
“None of the threats that have come into Springfield to date have been legitimate,” DeWine said. “We’re doing this purely as a precaution to prevent further disruption within the Springfield City School District.”
All of the threats were unfounded but have led to the city’s Republican mayor to call on former President Donald Trump and vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to stop with what he called lies about Haitian refugees killing and eating pets.
On CNN over the weekend, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said he’s asked both Trump and Vance to stop lying about the Haitians in the community.
Trump won Clarke County with 60% of the vote in 2020.
“It’s disconcerting they keep doubling and tripling down on what we keep asking them not to talk about,” Rue said on CNN. “We are not imploding on each other as far as a community. We need help and not hate. As far as the Haitian community, as a human being, I hate to keep seeing an entire community just blasted like this and lies continue to be said about a community. We have no evidence of the lies that have been said about them. The things that have been said about them are still lies, and we’d like that to stop.”
Rue also said he would not welcome a visit from Trump, Vance, or the Democratic ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“It would be extremely difficult if either one of the candidates came to our community right now,” Rue said. “I would discourage it if I had the opportunity because it is not the time to campaign in our community at the national level.”
