A city in Ohio invoked in debunked, outlandish conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants to the United States is cancelling a local arts and culture event in the face of threats.
The conspiracy theories assert that those foreign-born individuals — who now legally reside in the U.S. — have been taking local pets and other animals for food. There is no real-world proof of that community doing that, though even the state’s Sen. JD Vance (R), who is also Donald Trump’s running mate in this year’s race for the White House, has platformed the vitriolic and extreme claims.
“The city of Springfield, Ohio, is canceling its annual arts and culture festival following recent threats and safety concerns, it announced Monday. This also comes after days of schools and city buildings in the area [facing] threats of violence, prompting evacuations,” reported CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez on social media.
There was also another school evacuation in the city on Monday at its Kenwood Elementary School. (UPDATE: Another was also evacuated.)
Previously, the Springfield mayor tied the threats to the conspiracy theories about the local Haitian immigrants, who Trump even targeted in the televised debate hosted last week by ABC News.
During the debate, Trump was fact-checked by moderator David Muir, though the ex-president was persistent.
“I just want to clarify here, you bring up Springfield, Ohio. And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Muir told Trump.
