The city of Springfield, Ohio, released a statement on Thursday revealing a bomb threat was issued to several of its facilities, prompting the evacuation of its City Hall while law enforcement investigates.
The city of about 58K people in the southwestern portion of the state has been in the news recently because of claims debunked by city officials that Haitian immigrants are eating residents' pets.
As long as Republicans, including Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, continue to spread these lies, there's always the risk of violence ensuing. There's a long history of leaders using a hatred of immigrants to rile up their base for political means. This time, it was just a bomb threat; hopefully, next time, it won't be something that results in tragedy.
Nothing excuses this type of threat, but public officials have to expect that desperate people will take desperate measures. And the residents of Springfield are filled with desperation over the troubles immigrants have brought to their city. The city needs more resources to address the increase in crime and decrease in services, and it must be allowed to turn away future immigrants.