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A college in Springfield, Ohio, received threats of a shooting on Saturday. The following day, another email arrived with a bomb threat.
Both were toward members of the Haitian community, Wittenberg University said Monday, as unrest continued over debunked rumors that migrants were stealing and eating pets in the city.
"I worked with a group of people out in Springfield for the whole summer and not once did I have a problem, or did I run into someone who had an issue, with the Haitian community," a female Wittenberg junior told Newsweek Monday morning.
"All of the threats downtown and even on campus, it's almost surreal how quickly things have escalated. It's just really scary."
Newsweek is not identifying the college students quoted in this article over concerns for their safety.
The college said in a statement Monday that the campus was closed, and classes would be held remotely, as the FBI and local law enforcement investigated the new threats.
Another nearby college, Clark State, also shifted to remote classes for the entire week.
Unrest spirals in Springfield
The threats come after similar emails were sent to Springfield officials Thursday and Friday, prompting the closures of City Hall, health care facilities, schools and the local courthouse. Two more elementary schools were evacuated Monday, the Springfield News-Sun reported, due to "information" received by the police.
"These are the fifth and sixth SCSD buildings to be targeted by recent threats within the last week," the district said in a statement announcing the early dismissals.
Elsewhere in the city of 60,000, an apartment building was gutted by fire over the weekend, which left around 20 people displaced and two people injured. The cause has not yet been determined.
Accusations that Haitian migrants were eating cats and dogs appeared to start with a single Facebook post, which the author has since distanced herself from in an interview with NBC News.
"It just exploded into something I didn't mean to happen," Erika Lee told the outlet. "I'm not a racist... Everybody seems to be turning it into that, and that was not my intent."
The rumor was picked up by Ohio Senator JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, who amplified the claims on social media.
Trump himself then started talking about migrants "eating the pets" during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last Tuesday, before repeating the line in speeches the rest of the week and promising to begin his mass-deportation plan in Springfield, along with Aurora, Colorado, where Venezuelan gang members were causing problems for locals.
The GOP candidates' claims appear to be the genesis of the unrest in the city which has seen an increase in its immigrant population in recent years. Before last week, there were no recent threats to businesses, schools or officials to speak of.
Many migrants in Springfield are Haitian and have been granted Temporary Protected Status by the Biden Administration. This means they are eligible for benefits and can work.
Students at Wittenberg, a small Lutheran-affiliated private university in the middle of town, are among those who have been thrown into the election-season maelstrom without warning.
Another junior told Newsweek Monday that it had been a scary week for he and his classmates.
"We took care of each other. We opened up our house for anyone that didn't feel safe on campus," the student said.
"I feel like that happened all across campus and it was kind of nice to see the community that we shared together in in this hard time."
Ohio governor attempts to ease tensions
On Sunday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told ABC News that there was no evidence behind the claims made about Springfield's Haitian community.
"Let me tell you what we do know though. What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work," DeWine said. "Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence, with a lot of companies coming in.
"What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers," the governor said of the Haitian migrants. "They're very happy to have them there. And frankly, that's helped the economy."
Sen. Vance, who counts Springfield residents among his constituents, was also questioned about his role in the unrest on Sunday by CNN's Dana Bash. After defending the way the story had played out, he said that he and Trump had to "create stories" about migrants "so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people".
Trump is reportedly planning to visit Springfield "soon," NBC reported on Sunday, before the second attempt on his life.
"I feel really bad for people who are caught in the crossfire of all these threats coming to Springfield," the female Wittenberg junior said. "It feels like a lot of us around town are just getting stuck in, I don't want to say it's a political game, but it kind of unfortunately is."
The efforts to calm the unrest and debunk the claims have not appeared to ease safety concerns, with Wittenberg officials urging students and staff to remain vigilant.
"University administrators recognize that the city of Springfield has experienced an increase of threats to local government, businesses, and schools in the past week. We take these threats seriously and will provide updates to the campus as we learn more," the school wrote in a Monday note to campus.
Newsweek reached out to the FBI, Governor DeWine and Springfield officials for further comment Monday morning.
The city, meanwhile, has cancelled its annual CultureFest event later this month, citing ongoing safety concerns. The event was due to celebrate "diversity, arts and local culture".
"We deeply regret having to cancel CultureFest, as we know it is a beloved event for our community," Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said in a statement on Facebook. "However, the safety of our residents and visitors must come first."
The female Wittenberg junior told Newsweek that before the claims about the migrant community in Springfield spread, her impression of the city was that it was safe and the Haitian migrants wanted to help the town succeed.
"I think everyone is just confused as to how big this has gotten, and we would have literally never expected to wake up yesterday and see our campus all over the news potentially under attack," the student said.
"I think everyone is just blindsided."
Update 9/17/24 10:30 a.m. ET: This story has been updated.
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About the writer
Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and border security. ... Read more