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As vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance makes clear a willingness to peddle false stories to the public on the campaign trail, his fake claims have caused real panic at schools in his home state.
As Vance and GOP presidential running mate Donald Trump spread a vile and racist rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating their neighbors’ pets, six local schools were forced to close temporarily after receiving bomb threats. Two area colleges were also pushed into remote learning after the Republican duo’s disinformation campaign prompted real-world threats of violence .
State troopers and bomb detection dogs were deployed to Springfield’s public schools Tuesday after they received dozens of bomb threats in the last week alone.
“Our students, staff and school community do not deserve to have their daily schedules disrupted by senseless threats of violence,” district Superintendent Bob Hill said.