Springfield schools evacuated yet again over ‘threats’ after Trump’s lies about Haitian immigrants

Two more schools and two college campuses in Springfield, Ohio have been evacuated amid a surge in anti-immigrant invective driven in part by former president Donald Trump and his allies.

Leaders at Wittenberg University and Clark State College said on Monday that they would hold all classes virtually this week and cancel all on-campus events after receiving threats.

The Springfield City School District (SCSD) also told local broadcaster WHIO that students at Simon Kenton Elementary School and Kenwood Elementary School had been moved to other facilities due to information received from local police.

SCSD officials did not describe the nature of these threats, only saying that these were the fifth and sixth SCSD buildings to receive such threats in the past week.

“Late [on] Saturday Sep 14, the college received an email threat via the admissions link on our website, which raised concerns about a possible shooting,” said Clark State College in a public bulletin. “On Sunday, we received an email of a bomb threat to the Springfield campus.”

Wittenberg likewise said it was facing “ongoing threats” which were currently being assessed by local police and the FBI.

Haitian immigrants in Springfield have been targeted by a storm of racist conspiracy theories over the past few weeks, following months of agitation from far-right groups apparently including the Ku Klux Klan.

Last week, after Trump and his running mate JD Vance embraced false claims that Haitian residents have been eating their neighbors' dogs and cats, threats of violence temporarily forced the closure of government buildings, a cultural festival, two elementary schools, and a middle school.

Ohio governor Mike DeWine said on Monday that law enforcement agencies