Overseas threats hit the Ohio city where Trump and Vance lied about Haitians eating pets

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio stationed state police at Springfield schools Tuesday in response to a rash of bomb threats — the vast majority that officials said came from overseas —- after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance falsely said legal Haitian immigrants in the small city were eating dogs and cats.

Schools, government buildings and elected officials' homes in Springfield were among the targets of more than 30 hoax threats made last week that forced evacuations and closures. Two more schools had to be evacuated on Monday, and the high school was threatened on Tuesday. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said a foreign actor was largely responsible, but he declined to name the country.

Even with dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol officers fanning out to protect the Springfield City School District’s 18 schools, many parents opted to keep their children at home. At one elementary school, some 200 students were absent Tuesday out of a population of 500.

“There’s still a high level of fear due to these unfounded threats and hoaxes that have marred our existence really for going on a week now,” said Robert Hill, chief executive office of the Springfield City School District, appearing at a news conference with DeWine.

Two highway patrol officers have been assigned to each school, a protocol that will be continued “as long as it is necessary,” DeWine said.

“We do not believe there is a real threat out there, but we are certainly not going to take any chances. And we want parents to be assured that their children can be kids and can go to school and can learn,” he said.

State police were visible at a middle school earlier Tuesday, with students dropped off as normal.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in recent years in the predominantly white, blue-collar city of about 60,000, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the state capital of Columbus, where they have found work in factories and warehouses that had been struggling to fill job openings.

The sudden influx has strained schools, health care facilities and city services and driven up the cost of housing — and became a major political issue after Trump amplified debunked internet rumors about pet-eating during last week’s presidential debate. Vance has repeated the false claims.

“We did not have threats seven days ago. We did not have these concerns seven days ago. We did not have these hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in Springfield and from the state of Ohio in support seven days ago. We do today,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said Tuesday.

Rue did not mention Trump or Vance by name, but called on national leaders to “temper their words and speak truth.”

“That’s what Springfield is asking. We need peace. We need help, not hate,” he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris, answering questions at a forum for Black journalists in Philadelphia on Tuesday, said her heart breaks for Springfield. She said the inflammatory rhetoric about Haitian immigrants is “exhausting and it’s harmful and it’s hateful and and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for.”

Vance has not backed down, writing on the social media platform X that “citizens are telling us that there are problems” in Springfield and that he has repeatedly condemned the threats. He accused Harris of ignoring the residents' legitimate concerns and trying to stifle debate.

DeWine's spokesperson, Dan Tierney, said Tuesday that “the vast majority" of the bomb threats have come from foreign countries.” He said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies yielded information on the origin of the threats.

Tierney was not more specific on how investigators determined they came from a foreign country, nor would he reveal the name of the country, saying that could encourage additional threats.

“These are largely foreign actors, not folks in the community or another part of the United States,” he said. “We think it’s useful in part because it shows that it’s, you know, false, that it’s safe to send your kids to school. And we’re providing extra patrol support to make sure people feel safe at school.”

Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine holds a news conference Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at city hall in Springfield, Ohio, (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora Orsagos)

A parishioner walks back to his pew after taking Communion during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

A Springfield police officer talks to a parishioner after a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

St Raphael Catholic church parishioners, Berthing Jean Philippe, left, Casey Kelly Rollins and Patrick Joseph embrace after a service in support of the Haitian in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster up his country’s military capabilities to repel United States-led threats.

The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed Wednesday, extending its run of weapons displays as confrontations with the U.S. and South Korea escalate.

The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer (200 mile) -range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.

KCNA said Kim also guided the launch of an improved “strategic” cruise missile, a word implying the weapon was developed to carry a nuclear warhead.

After the tests, Kim stressed the need to continue to “bolster up the nuclear force” and acquire “overwhelming offensive capability in the field of conventional weapons, too," according to KCNA. It cited the Kim as saying that North Korea can thwart its enemies' intentions to invade only when it has strong military power.

KCNA released photos of a missile hitting a ground target. South Korea's military said later Thursday it assessed that both ballistic and cruise missiles fired by North Korea the previous day landed in the North's mountainous northeastern region.

North Korea typically test-launches missiles off its east coast, and it's highly unusual for the country to fire missiles at land targets likely because of concerns about potential damages on the ground if the weapons land in unintended areas.

Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, said North Korea likely aims to show it's confident about the the accuracy of its new ballistic missile with a high-powered warhead meant to attack ground targets. But Jung said North Korea hasn't acquired weapons that can penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground structures.

The Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile's first known test occurred in early July. North Korea said the July test was successful as well, but South Korea's military disputed the claim saying one of the two missiles fired by North Korea travelled abnormally during the initial stage of its flight before falling at an uninhabited area near Pyongyang, the capital. North Korea hasn't released photos on the July launches.

North Korea has been pushing to introduce a variety of sophisticated weapons systems designed to attack both South Korea and the mainland U.S. to deal with what it calls its rivals’ intensifying security threats. Many foreign experts say North Korea would ultimately want to use its enlarged arsenal as leverage to win greater concessions in future dealings with the U.S.

Worries about North Korea deepened last week as it disclosed photos of a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs. Since late May, North Korea has also floated thousands of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, prompting the South to resume anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts at border areas.

Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missiles launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a launch of an improved strategic cruise missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, oversees a launch of, what it says, the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)