City Hall in Springfield, Ohio, was evacuated on Thursday alongside multiple school, county, and city buildings after receiving threats.
The city was thrust into the national spotlight thanks to lurid stories about Haitian immigrants eating pets and hunting local duck and geese. Those stories were boosted in recent days by former President Donald Trump, who repeated and embellished them on the debate stage on Tuesday night.
The local Springfield News-Sun reported that City Hall was evacuated around 8:30am Thursday after a threat the city’s mayor Rob Rue described as coming from somebody claiming to be from the city who mentioned “frustration with the city related to Haitian immigration issues.”
Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Haitians have moved to Springfield over the past few years, the paper reported, and City Commission meetings have been filled with residents frustrated with issues stemming from the influx.
But on the newspaper’s Facebook page, not everybody was convinced that the threat actually originated from somebody upset with the city’s handling of migrants.
Instead, some posters think the evacuation might have been a way for city employees to avoid accountability to the public and media which has descended on the town.
“Or did they go in hiding from the news because America wants answers the press is in town,” posted one person. Their page shows them dining regularly at restaurants in Springfield.
“There are many national news reporters & YouTubers in town that went to get interviews and they have denied interviews and comments to all of them,” added one woman whose page says she lives in Springfield. “So I wouldn’t doubt this was a tactic to keep the Building closed so they wouldn’t have to answer to anyone.”
At the presidential debate on Tuesday night, Trump boosted the claims about immigrants in the city eating cats, dogs, and pets. ABC moderator David Muir pushed back on Trump’s narrative, saying that the channel had contacted Springfield’s city manager, who denied that there were any reports of immigrants eating pets.
“They lied,” posted one man whose Facebook page also says he lives in Springfield. “They put the city manager up on national platform and lied. I don’t think it’s a good idea to threaten anybody. But how long did they think people were gonna let it go?”
While residents are upset and think their local officials are misleading, state agencies also pushed back on the viral claims.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) told the Daily Dot that people have contacted them asking about missing ducks or geese, but didn’t have more information to share.
“Our officers work on tips and observations, they then make contact. Those contacts don’t always find criminal activity, so no summons or charges are filed,” a spokesperson for ODNR explained.
They also said on Thursday that a viral image of a man walking around with a goose in his hand had been reported to ODNR on July 28 on the 1-800-POACHER hotline.
“ODNR Division of Wildlife investigated the call and determined the photograph was taken on Cleveland Avenue in Columbus,” the office said. “This case is still under investigation.”
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