Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said Monday that he and his family are getting death threats.

Rue told WSYX/ABC 6’s Darrel Rowland during a Zoom interview that other city leaders are also getting death threats, some of whom have been targeted by swatting calls.

“I’ve received death threats, against myself, my family,” he said. “I believe other commissioners have received threats and other city staff members have received threats.”

Springfield has been the subject of fiery political debate in recent days since former President Donald Trump repeated during last week’s nationally-televised debate with Kamala Harris the unproven claim that Haitian immigrants there are stealing and eating residents’ pets.

Trump and running mate JD Vance have been passing the story around while Rue and other Springfield officials have said on several occasions that those stories are not true.

“It’s a ridiculous rumor,” Rue said.

Springfield City Hall was forced to evacuate on Thursday because of a bomb threat, two schools were evacuated there Friday, two hospitals were locked down Saturday because of bomb threats and two more schools were evacuated Monday.

ABC 6 tried to verify a social media post that sparked some of the political firestorms. The man who posted a photograph of a person carrying a goose said he took that picture in Columbus and had no intention of creating the reaction that it did. He did not send ABC 6 the photo to let us authenticate it, nor did he agree to meet for an in-person interview.

In another case, a man called 911 in August to report what he claimed were four Haitian immigrants stealing geese from a park in Springfield. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost slammed the media for not checking into that story, but last week, when ABC 6 contacted that caller, who did not wish to be interviewed, he said he had followed up with police and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. ODNR then debunked that story and said no evidence had been found that such a crime had been committed.

Another story about a woman who allegedly killed a cat and ate it in front of neighbors originated in Canton, Ohio, about 173 miles away from Springfield. She’s been arrested and now faces several charges. Whether she is an immigrant is not known.

On Friday, Trump was asked during a rally in California if he’d consider visiting Springfield. He said he might, which prompted this reaction from Rue, a Republican:

“I think if either candidate comes to our city, that’s going to be difficult for us,” he said.