Ohio City Cancels Cultural Festival After Haitian Outrage | News, Sports, Jobs

OHIO REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR Mike DeWine speaks Monday at a town hall in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora Orsagos)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State Police will help protect schools in a city at the center of a political dispute over Haitian migrants, the governor announced Monday, while local officials canceled an annual celebration of cultural diversity over false accusations by former President Donald Trump that he ate pets.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, denounced the debunked rumors that spread online before Trump amplified them during last week’s presidential debate, saying there was no evidence. He told a news conference in Springfield on Monday that dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol members would be deployed to city schools starting Tuesday after a series of threats across the city, searching each building each morning before faculty or students arrived. Security cameras have also been placed at strategic points around the city, and a bomb-sniffing dog will be in the city and available around the clock.

“We know people are very, very concerned” DeWine said. “But we’ve moved resources to Springfield. People have a right to feel safe and be safe.”

Springfield City Hall, several schools and state motor vehicle offices in Springfield were forced to evacuate last week after receiving bomb threats. There have been at least 33 separate bomb threats in recent days, all of them hoaxes, DeWine said. He said some of the threats came from abroad, but he declined to name the country.

“People who do this do it to sow discord in our community” said Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “We simply cannot allow them to do this. We cannot allow them to do this. We must continue to provide the services that the citizens of Springfield and Clark County expect.”

Springfield has been the focus of intense scrutiny in recent days after Trump, his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and the Republican presidential campaign repeated false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets and waterfowl.

President Joe Biden, who was in Philadelphia on Monday for the National HBCU Week conference, weighed in on the situation in Springfield, condemning what he called “lies and hatred.”

“This is wrong. This is just wrong. And it has to stop” he said.

Springfield has canceled its annual celebration of diversity, arts and culture in response to the threats. The city’s two-day CultureFest was set to begin Sept. 27 but has been canceled “in light of recent threats and security concerns” Springfield officials made the announcement on Monday.

“It is with deep regret that we have to cancel CultureFest as we know it is an event that is beloved by our community.” City Manager Bryan Heck said this in a statement. “However, the safety of our residents and visitors must come first.”

Two Springfield colleges held virtual classes Monday. Wittenberg University said it received two threats over the weekend, “both targeted members of the Haitian community.” Clark State College says it will operate virtually through Friday “due to recent events in Springfield.”

The town itself seemed quiet Monday. Among the guests at the Creole restaurant were friends Bill Teager and Paul Gomia, who drove more than an hour to support the Haitian-owned business.

“We are both outraged by what has happened in this city over the past week at a national and even local level.” Teager said.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in recent years in the mostly white, working-class city of about 60,000, about 45 miles from the state capital Columbus, finding work in factories and warehouses that have struggled to fill vacancies. The sudden influx has strained schools, health care facilities and city services and raised housing costs.

DeWine acknowledged that Springfield has problems, but said it is “a city that, quite frankly, is moving. If you look at where Springfield was 15 years ago, 10 years ago, even five years ago, we’re moving.”

He declined to criticize Trump, saying the Biden administration’s record on immigration is a legitimate topic for debate. But he noted that Haitians in Springfield are there legally under a federal program that allows them to remain in the country temporarily because conditions in Haiti are deemed unsafe for them to return.

“Companies hire them because they need help and support” DeWine said. “These are people who care about their families. These are people who value education. These are hard-working people. And I think we should respect that.”

He added: “These… people who spread hate have to go. They have to go. They have to stop it.”

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Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. Associated Press writer Ayanna Alexander in Philadelphia contributed to this report.