Several government buildings and dozens of schools in Columbus, Springfield and other cities in Ohio were closed for hours on Monday morning so that law enforcement could investigate bomb threats called in across the state, some of which mentioned the potential deportation of thousands of Haitians from the state. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
A series of bomb threats, which turned out to be hoaxes, caused government buildings and dozens of schools in Ohio to close on Monday morning.
Officials in Columbus and Springfield confirmed that schools in both cities were closed for the day, as was the Ohio Statehouse and Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, among others, after a series of bomb threats were delivered to them.
Law enforcement determined that there was “no immediate or credible threat to the public” in Springfield, Mayor Rob Rue said later in the morning in a statement.
Calling the threats “despicable,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said that suspicious packages were found near at least two of the threatened locations and revealed that some of the threats made reference to more than 10,000 Haitian immigrants in the state, the New York Times reported.
“These are threats that also referenced Haitians,” DeWine said at a press briefing. “The whole essence of the threats were the Haitians should be out, get rid of the Haitians.”
More than 30 elementary schools in Columbus received the emailed threats, in addition to the Statehouse and Chamber of Commerce, although the law enforcement officials said that after searches no explosive devices or other dangerous materials were discovered, WBNS-10 and WSYX-6 reported.
Columbus City Schools spokesperson Michael Brown told Axios that the threats sent to schools did not mention “immigration in any form, nor Haitians,” unlike the threats received in Springfield.
According to DeWine, many of the threats received in Springfield did reference the Haitian population there.
After Springfield officials started to receive the threats around 7:45 a.m. on Monday, the school district there canceled classes for the day while several street blocks were closed to traffic as police investigated the threats, ABC News reported.
Residents and visitors in the city who had earlier been asked to avoid the downtown area were permitted to resume their days around 1 p.m. when no threats were found.
Springfield experienced a series of bomb threats — more than 30 in just a few days — after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during the 2024 presidential campaign embraced viral rumors that Haitian immigrants were kidnapping and eating people’s cats and dogs.
The new bomb threats come as the Trump administration is attempting to end Temporary Protection Status for people from Haiti who have fled to the United States because of the ongoing dangerous situation there.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the FBI said that it and law enforcement partners are investigating the hoax threats and local officials said they did not have information on where the messages originated from.
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Bad Bunny performs during the Apple Music halftime show of Super Bowl LX at at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on February 8, 2026. Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI | License Photo
