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Ohio's Republican governor revealed on Monday that reported bomb threats against various sites in Springfield, Ohio, that have been blamed on Republican rhetoric surrounding the Haitian migrant crisis in the town were all "hoaxes."
"Thirty-three threats; Thirty-three hoaxes," Gov. Mike DeWine announced during a press conference. "I want to make that very, very clear. None of these had any validity at all."
DeWine said during the press conference that many of the threats came from "overseas."
"We have people unfortunately overseas who are taking these actions," DeWine added. "Some of them are coming from one particular country."
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The governor's office said it is not disclosing the country in an effort to discourage threats to the schools and other buildings.
DeWine also said that dozens of members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol will be stationed in city schools after the threats, with officers sweeping buildings before the arrival of staff and students.
"We know that people are very, very concerned," DeWine said. "But we’ve moved resources into Springfield. People have the right to feel safe as well as being safe."
Members of the media and prominent Democrats have relentlessly cited the threats as evidence that comments from former President Donald Trump, Sen. JD Vance and other top Republicans are putting people in danger in Springfield, but the governor's statements contradict that.
Tom Elliot, founder of the multimedia marketplace Grabien, posted on X that media outlets spent at least 350 hours mentioning the bomb threats and associating them to Trump.
"Last night, Ohio Gov. DeWine announced the bomb threats were all hoaxes. And yet as of this morning, only 3 hours were spent last night announcing the hoax (vs. 35 hours yesterday discussing the original "bomb threats" story), and thus far today only 1 hour announcing they were hoaxes, vs. another 11 hours circulating the original fake news," Elliot wrote.
"Ohio Democrats were quick to blame Bernie, JD Vance, and President Trump for these bomb threats in Springfield, and their allies in the mainstream media went along with it without evidence," Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Ohio GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital.
"As it turns out, this was a false smear that has since been debunked. We look forward to their apology."
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The Trump War Room account on X also wondered aloud about a potential apology.
"Where do President Trump and JD Vance go to get their apology from the media who claimed they incited them?" The Trump affiliated account posted on X about the bomb threats.
William Martin, a campaign spokesperson for vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, ripped MSNBC's Willie Geist on Tuesday morning for blaming Vance's rhetoric for the bomb threats, saying it was "Disgraceful Fake News."
The alleged threats played a direct role in the city of Springfield canceling its annual CultureFest celebration that was scheduled for this weekend.
"In light of recent threats and safety concerns, the City of Springfield has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s CultureFest celebration," the city said in a statement. "The decision was made with the utmost consideration for the safety and well-being of our community and event participants."
The two-day event was scheduled for later this month, and officials said it "celebrates diversity, arts and local culture." However, officials said that after consulting law enforcement, the decision was made to cancel it to prevent "potential risks" to attendees and staff.
"We deeply regret having to cancel CultureFest, as we know it is a beloved event for our community," said City Manager Bryan Heck. "However, the safety of our residents and visitors must come first."
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The statement came a day after Wittenberg University had canceled campus activities and increased the number of police on campus due to a threat of a potential shooting which authorities said targeted Haitians.
The Springfield City School District said in a statement Friday that "all threats to the Springfield City School District are taken seriously and will be prosecuted at the highest levels. The district’s messaging to families continues to be one of gratitude for their patience and understanding as our Wildcat Family navigates these events."
The city has seen a massive influx of Haitian migration in recent years, leading to some complaints from local residents who described the impact it has had on social services and the community. Others have said it has revitalized a town that was seeing decline before the influx.
Amid those claims, however, were viral reports that migrants were eating pets and other animals, which quickly caught national attention in recent weeks.
The city pushed back, saying that there had been no credible reports of pets being abused or harmed by immigrants, but they were echoed by Republicans -- including former President Donald Trump at last week’s presidential debate. Trump has also pointed to the alleged impact on the community as representative of broader issues of immigration affecting the United States.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said. "They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Many migrants from Haiti have come through the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, which allow up to 30,000 nationals in a month. Meanwhile, an estimated 300,000 Haitians were recently given protection from deportation via a redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for nationals from Haiti.
Fox News' Michael Lee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
