Politics
Bomb threat stokes fear in Ohio’s Springfield after Trump amplifies pet-eating rumours
Evacuation of government buildings came days after the former president falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants were harming pets
Government buildings and a junior school in Springfield, Ohio were evacuated on Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rattling the small US city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump.
Springfield has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story of Haitian migrants eating pets went viral on social media, with the Republican ex-president and current White House candidate pushing the narrative despite it being debunked.
Democrats have accused Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, of fanning racial tensions as they use the Springfield conspiracy theory to elevate immigration as a campaign issue ahead of November’s election.
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Trump doubled down on the rhetoric during a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona on Thursday, saying that “migrants are walking off with the town’s geese”.
Immediately after mentioning Springfield in his speech, Trump added: “I’m angry about young American girls being raped and sodomised and murdered by savage criminal aliens,” though provided no specific details.
Springfield authorities said there were no credible reports of pets being harmed by members of the immigrant community – accusations that Trump also repeated in his Thursday debate against Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris.
The White House condemned the claims on Thursday as “filth” and said they were endangering people’s lives.
On Thursday, Springfield police said that city hall and several other government buildings had been evacuated after a bomb threat sent by email at 8:24am (local time).
“Authorities investigated and cleared all facilities listed in the threat with the assistance of explosive detecting canines,” the force said in a statement.
Fulton junior school and Springfield Academy of Excellence were also listed in the threat and evacuated, according to the statement.
“We are currently partnering with the Dayton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify the source of the email,” it added.
Arriving at the school to retrieve his child, Haitian immigrant Mackenso Roseme said that the current tensions in the community were “worrying”.
“I’m a little stressed. I think something might happen,” he said.
A sign in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole informed Roseme and other parents that the students had been moved to a high school.
A man carries an AI-generated image of Donald Trump carrying cats away from Haitian immigrants during a campaign rally in Tucson, Arizona, on September 12. Photo: AFP
Mayor Rob Rue told the Springfield News-Sun that the person who sent the bomb threat claimed to be from the city and mentioned Haitian immigration issues.
Despite the bomb threats, Trump was still reposting memes related to the conspiracy theory hours later on his Truth Social platform.
He claimed Ohio was being “inundated with illegal migrants, mostly from Haiti, who are taking over Towns and Villages at a level and rate never seen before.”
Springfield, with a population of about 58,000, has seen an increase in Haitian immigrants in recent years – 10,000 to 15,000 according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Social services, schools and housing have been stressed in the city for years, with some pointing to migration as a factor.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine – a Republican like Trump – gave some context to the situation in Springfield during an interview on Thursday.
DeWine said 15,000 immigrants from Haiti live in Springfield, “a dramatic change” for the city, and added they were there under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows foreign nationals to live and work in the United States.
“Why did they come? They came for jobs,” DeWine told Fox News reporters. “There’s nothing wrong with us being welcoming.”
A multiracial group of pastors called a press conference on Thursday in Springfield, joining hands in prayer and calling on the community to come together.
“Today there were some things that happened, some threats of violence,” Wes Babian, a former pastor of First Baptist Church, said.
“That is part of what motivated the quick calling of clergy to come together to express our support for the Haitian community and our concern for the well-being of the entire community.”
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Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato ‘now’, Boris Johnson has urged.
The former prime minister has said the move would be the ‘single biggest step’ the West could take to end Russia‘s war.
He admitted the United States and its allies would be alarmed about Ukraine joining the military alliance while fighting was ongoing.
It would mean all 32 Nato member states would have to commit to Ukraine’s defence.
But writing in today’s Spectator, he argues: ‘The risk is that we continue with the ambiguity and indecision over the future of Ukraine that has led to the worst war in Europe in my lifetime.
Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato ‘now’, Boris Johnson (left) has urged. Mr Johnson is pictured shaking hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, September 13, 2024
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) said after a summit in Washington in July that Nato had ‘confirmed Ukraine’s irreversible path to full membership’. Yet earlier this year, US President Joe Biden (left) said he was ‘not prepared to support the Nato-isation of Ukraine’. Sir Keir and President Biden are pictured together at the summit in DC on July 10, 2024
‘If we want peace, then we must put the Ukrainians in the strongest possible position, and this is how to do it.’
Ukraine has long sought membership of Nato and gained ‘aspiring member’ status in 2018, four years after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but not all western leaders have been enthusiastic.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stepped up the demand in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion in early 2022. However, at a summit last year Nato leaders said Ukraine could join only once it had completed ‘democratic and security sector reforms‘.
At the time, Mr Johnson said there should have been a timetable for membership ‘as soon as victory is won’. Now the former foreign secretary goes further, arguing: ‘We could invite Ukraine to join before the war is even over.’
‘We need to get Ukraine into Nato now, and I mean now,’ he writes. He suggests the critical Article 5 security guarantee – which means an attack on one Nato member is seen as an attack on all – could be extended to cover territory currently controlled by Kyiv, while allies should also reaffirm the country’s right to its borders.
‘We could protect most of Ukraine, while simultaneously supporting the Ukrainian right to recapture the rest,’ Mr Johnson writes, adding: ‘This is the single biggest step we can take to bring this hideous war to an end.
‘We would send the crucial message to the Kremlin, the one Russians really need to hear. The message is: that’s it. It’s over. You don’t have an empire any more.’
A Ukrainian tank of the 110th brigade moves through a field as it returns from a position at the frontline on Pokrovsk direction, Donetsk region, Ukraine on Wednesday, September 18, 2024
A heavily damaged and partially destroyed house following a Russian attack on the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region on September 17, 2024
He admits the decision depends above all on the US. Sir Keir Starmer said after a summit in Washington in July that Nato had ‘confirmed Ukraine’s irreversible path to full membership’.
Yet earlier this year, US President Joe Biden said he was ‘not prepared to support the Nato-isation of Ukraine’.
Mr Johnson adds: ‘We would all have to commit to the defence of that Ukrainian territory. And of course that will mean anxiety and resistance.’
He also renewed his call for Mr Biden and the Prime Minister to allow Ukraine to fire western Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, after talks last week between the pair failed to lead to a breakthrough.
Russia’s ambassador to the UK was hauled into the Foreign Office today over ‘malicious and completely baseless’ claims against British diplomats in Moscow.
The Kremlin last week announced the expulsion of six Foreign Office staff from Russia and claimed to have evidence they were engaged in spying and sabotage.
The move ratcheted up tensions between Londonand Moscow as Sir Keir Starmer prepared to meet Joe Biden in Washington DC.
The PM and US President held talks on giving the go-ahead for Ukraine to use long-range missiles, including Britain’s Storm Shadow weapons, against targets in Russia.
The Foreign Office immediately rejected the claims by Russia’s FSB security agency against its staff in Moscow and today announced the summoning of Russian ambassador Andrey Kelin.
It said the action was taken in response to Moscow’s ‘malicious and deliberate public campaign of aggression against the UK’.
Andrey Kelin, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, was hauled into the Foreign Office today over ‘malicious and completely baseless’ claims against British diplomats in Moscow
The Foreign Office said the action was taken in response to Moscow’s ‘malicious and deliberate public campaign of aggression against the UK’
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘The UK condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s unprecedented and unfounded public campaign of aggression against the UK, including the malicious and completely baseless accusations made against Foreign Office staff last week.
‘This behaviour is in direct contravention to Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
‘This pattern of behaviour is completely unacceptable, deeply unprofessional, and beneath the standards of conduct between states.
‘This is the latest development in a deliberate campaign by Russia to undermine and threaten UK security and democracy and deter our support for Ukraine, through disinformation, acts of sabotage in Europe and direct harassment and restrictions against our diplomatic missions in Russia.
‘This campaign will not succeed. Russia must stop this activity immediately.’
The expulsion of six UK diplomats from Moscow is the latest in a series of diplomatic rows between Britain and Russia over the past year.
In May, the UK expelled Russia’s defence attache in London, Colonel Maxim Elovik, claiming he was an ‘undeclared military intelligence officer’, removed diplomatic status from several Russian-owned premises, and placed restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas.
In response, Russia expelled Britain’s defence attache in Moscow, Captain Adrian Coghill.
Despite Sir Keir and Mr Biden’s talks last week, no decision has yet been reached on giving Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to target Russian airfields and military bases.
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