Ohio governor says troopers to guard Springfield schools amid ‘unfounded’ bomb threats

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he would be stationing state highway patrol troopers at Springfield schools amid a series of “unfounded” bomb threats, many coming from overseas actors wanting to stir political discord.

Springfield has been at the center of the national debate over immigration and has been repeatedly cited by Republican politicians, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, as an example of the harm the Biden administration’s immigration policies are causing.

The Ohio city’s resources have been strained due to an influx of Haitian migrants, and Springfield was brought into the national spotlight amid allegations that some of those migrants were killing and eating resident’s pets.

Ohio officials have not confirmed any such reports involving pets but have affirmed at least one case involving geese.

Mr. DeWine said that a number of bomb threats have been called into Springfield but none have been legitimate.

But “purely as a precaution,” he announced that he would station 36 state highway troopers throughout the Springfield City School District to conduct sweeps of the 18 school buildings each morning before students and faculty arrive.

The trooper also will provide security throughout the school day.

The enhanced security will begin Tuesday and continue “for the foreseeable future,” Mr. DeWine said.

“Many of these threats are coming in from overseas, made by those who want to fuel the current discord surrounding Springfield. We cannot let the bad guys win,” he said.

“We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know that their kids are safe. The added security will help ease some of the fears caused by these hoaxes,” he said.

Mr. DeWine also directed the state’s homeland security department to conduct vulnerability assessments on other critical Springfield infrastructure and to provide tower cameras for enhanced police monitoring.

The Ohio Department of Public Safety has arranged for bomb detection dogs to be stationed in Springfield each day,