In America, Trump’s fake news has repercussions… and Springfield is paying the price – L’Express

2024-09-14 14:04:42

Bomb threats to public schools or public buildings. On Friday, September 13, officials in the American city of Springfield (Ohio), which has approximately 60,000 inhabitants, announced that they had ordered the evacuation of several establishments and the town hall, in the area of ​​false accusations from Donald Trump against Haitian immigrants living in the community.

The city, located west of Columbus in the northeast of the country, was the center of a national political storm when the former US president and Republican candidate said in a televised debate on September 10 against to Kamala Harris, that they steal and eat pets. . “Far-reaching accusations”, according to city officials and the police.

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“As a precautionary measure, all affected buildings have been evacuated. The authorities, with the help of explosive detection dogs, carried out thorough inspections and produced the materials mentioned in the threats,” the city said in A press release. On Friday, however, Donald Trump stepped up his falsehoods, promising “massive exemptions” in Springfield, pretending not to know that many of these immigrants have residency permits. what he did, he must stop,” said Joe Biden from the White House, adding that “there is no place in America” ​​for such accusations.

Threats against a home

The Federal Police is still investigating the threats made on Thursday evening to a Haitian house in the city, the director of this agency, Viles Dorsainvil, told AFP, referring to insults and calls to “get out” of the area. On the same day, Donald Trump, during a meeting in Arizona, continued to refer to this false and racist statement. “It’s a great community, it’s horrible what happened,” he told the crowd, also mentioning, without evidence, the case of immigrants attacking “barbaric” or “raping American girls.”

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Some of his supporters were seen at this campaign rally with signs showing Donald Trump protecting two kittens in his arms, images generated by artificial intelligence.

“The Haitian community is shocked and saddened, and many of them are talking about possibly leaving Springfield,” Rose-Thamar Joseph, secretary of the local aid agency for the Haitian community, told Reuters. “Springfield is a great community, and your pets are safe in our city,” the mayor, Rob Rue, tried to assure in a television program that aired on Friday.