Ohio city’s schools get extra police as bomb threats follow false Trump claims

Ohio's governor is deploying the Ohio state highway patrol to provide security to schools in the city of Springfield in response to more than 30 bomb threats the schools have received since former president Donald Trump repeated false claims about Haitian immigrants in the city eating people's pets during the presidential debate last week.

In a statement Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, said that many of the bomb threats were coming in from overseas, "made by those who want to fuel the current discord surrounding Springfield".

"We cannot let the bad guys win," he continued. "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."

None of the threats that have come in to Springfield to date have been legitimate, the governor said, adding that the enhanced security was being used purely "as a precaution to prevent further disruption" within the Springfield city school district.

The enhanced security, which consists of 36 troopers stationed throughout the Springfield city school district, is set to begin on Tuesday, the governor said, and will continue for the foreseeable future.

"Troopers will sweep each building for threats before students and faculty arrive and will stay on-site to provide security throughout the school day and during dismissal," the announcement reads.

During a news conference on Monday, DeWine said that at least 33 separate bomb threats had been received at Springfield schools, adding that "each one of which has been responded to, and each one of whom has been found as a hoax".