Springfield’s Haitian community, the subject of repeated smears, is exhausted and ready for the country’s attention to move somewhere else. But while they’re frustrated, they say they see the furor for what it is — manufactured,

Several dozen Haitians and allies gathered on Federal Plaza with an umbrella in one hand and Haitian flags in the other Sunday afternoon. The gloomy sky and near-constant downpour did not dampen their admonishment of former President Donald Trump’s unfounded accusations that Haitians were stealing and eating pets in Springfield,

Cary Kozberg is the only rabbi in a city at the epicenter of right-wing anti-immigrant rhetoric. The only rabbi in Springfield, Ohio, has expressed regret and said he will meet with local Haitian leaders following widespread criticism of his remarks disparaging the city’s migrant community.

More than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, government buildings and city officials’ homes since last week, forcing evacuations and closures.

The Ohio Council of Churches expressed solidarity with Haitian migrants and condemned rumors about them eating people's pets.

They charged Donald J. Trump and JD Vance, who spread baseless rumors that Haitians in an Ohio city were eating pets, with imperiling their community for political gain.