FIRST ON FOX: A group of Republicans wrote to national law enforcement and intelligence heads Friday requesting weekly updates on foreign election interference after bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, turned out to be “hoaxes” originating overseas.

Ten House Republicans wrote to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, FBI Director Chris Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding to know which country was involved in the 33 “hoax” bomb threats that went out to Springfield and what actions they’d taken to combat social media campaigns, cyberespionage and threats of physical harm perpetrated by foreign actors. 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine revealed Monday that local law enforcement had responded to 33 fake bomb threats in Springfield made against hospitals, schools and government offices. 

“Thirty-three threats. Thirty-three hoaxes,” DeWine said during a press conference in Springfield. “I want to make that very, very clear. None of these had any validity at all.” 

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The governor said many of the threats came from “one particular country,” which he declined to name. 

“We have people, unfortunately, overseas, who are taking these actions,” DeWine said. “Some of them are coming from one particular country.” 

“The American people and Congress deserve to know which of our foreign adversaries are intentionally spreading misinformation to elicit fear and confusion. I stand ready to assist you in any way possible as we work to ensure the security and integrity of the 2024 elections,” Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, wrote in the letter. 

Springfield found itself front and center on the national stage after viral social media posts about Haitian migrants eating pets, claims that turned out to be unverifiable. Former President Trump amplified the unsubstantiated claim during a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris Sept. 10. 

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said. 

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“These bomb threats have caused closures, evacuations of municipal buildings as well as schools. This placed additional strain on police and social services already overburdened by the community’s influx of Haitian migrants,” the letter, signed by Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Mike Carey of Ohio, Gooden and others, said.

Springfield’s Republican leadership says it has been overwhelmed by the influx of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

“The purpose of these hoaxes is clear: our foreign adversaries aim to stoke the flames of division.”

But the 60,000-person town’s Republican leadership says it has been overwhelmed by the influx of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants. Many have come to the U.S. under temporary protected status, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. for a limited time. 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Digital the federal government has not properly coordinated resettling those migrants with the town, and it is therefore “stressing the schools, the health care system and the safety net.” He said at least 4,000 of the migrants were receiving government assistance. 

Russia and Iran have been accused of meddling in U.S. elections. Earlier this month, the Justice Department seized websites and indicted Russian media employees it accused the Kremlin of using to spread misinformation and sow discord. 

“We think that this is one more opportunity to mess with the United States,” DeWine said of the foreign actors making the threats. “And they’re continuing to do that.”  

“We cannot let the bad guys win. Our schools must remain open,” he added, noting additional law enforcement resources will be deployed in Springfield amid the flurry of threats. 

“The people who are doing this are doing this to sow discord in our community,” Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said. “We just can’t let them do that. We have to keep providing the services that the citizens of Springfield and Clark County expect.”

Springfield city Manager Bryan Heck has said there are “no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

The town canceled its upcoming annual celebration of diversity, arts and culture amid the increase in threats, officials said Monday. 

With the danger of a wider Middle East war looming, Israel on Friday bombarded part of the Lebanese capital, killing at least 14 people and wounding 66 others, Lebanese authorities said.

The attack hit a seven-story residential building in Beirut, causing it to collapse. Crowds milled in front of the blast site, walking gingerly over a carpet of shattered glass, crushed masonry and downed power lines. Many were grimly waiting for news of loved ones trapped under the wreckage.

“My friend is trapped in the rubble of the central building,” said Mahmoud, a 23-year-old who gave only his first name. “I hope he’s martyred. He would be happier with that than being wounded.”

Almost four hours after the blast, ambulances were still coming in as crews worked to extricate those trapped inside. Exterior walls of one nearby residential building were blown off, revealing the rooms inside as if a dollhouse.

Some took to social media to post pictures of missing family members.

The strike came just days after thousands of sabotaged electronic devices exploded across Lebanon, killing 30 and wounding thousands, an action widely attributed to Israel.

Ahead of Friday’s Israeli strike, Hezbollah had pounded northern Israel on Thursday night with rockets. The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, vowed revenge for the spate of bombings in Lebanon through pagers and walkie-talkies widely blamed on Israel.

Friday’s attack targeted and killed several commanders in the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s special forces, said Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Among them was Ibrahim Aqil, whom Hagari described as a senior military commander who is close to Nasrallah and had been planning a large-scale attack in the Galilee region of northern Israel. The U.S. previously accused Aqil of responsibility for the deadly bombings of U.S. Marines in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Hezbollah confirmed Aqil’s death late Friday.

The strike occurred in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut where Hezbollah is headquartered. It is a densely populated area with a vibrant commercial sector, shops and markets.

The Lebanese civil defense said at least two apartment buildings had collapsed.

Residents were told to evacuate the area. Families appeared by the barricade, looking dazed as they carried duffel bags, suitcases and pet carriers.

At one point, an older official took a megaphone, asking the crowd to disperse and let rescue crews do their job. He exhorted the crowd to show their defiance against Israel, shouting, “We are at your service, Nasrallah.”

Israel and Hezbollah renewed their clashes in October, when the Iran-backed militant group stepped up cross-border attacks in what it said was solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.

In recent days, Israel has repeatedly telegraphed a more aggressive stance toward Hezbollah. On Thursday, the Israeli military said its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, had recently approved new plans for the northern conflict zone. A day earlier, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that the conflict was entering a “new phase.”

The escalation comes even as U.S. officials crisscross the region imploring leaders to avoid inflaming tensions — a plea evidently ignored. Biden administration officials, who have been unsuccessful in securing a cease-fire in Gaza that could ease the regional conflict, were quick to insist the U.S. had nothing to do with Friday’s attack, a similar disclaimer made following the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies.

“Our intensive diplomacy efforts continue,” White House national security spokesman John F. Kirby said Friday. “We believe, continue to believe, that a diplomatic solution is the best way forward. … War is not inevitable.”

Bulos reported from Beirut and Wilkinson from Washington. Times staff writer Laura King in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.

The House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill increasing U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protections for major presidential and vice presidential candidates after two foiled assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.

It passed with an overwhelming unanimous 405 to 0 vote, a rare show of bipartisanship in Congress.

The legislation was introduced by Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in response to the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

A 20-year-old gunman was able to open fire on the rally from a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter, killing one attendee and injuring Trump and two others.

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Weeks later, USSS agents arrested a man near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course who had been waiting for the ex-president during a game on Sunday with an SKS rifle.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden, the bill would mandate a comprehensive review of USSS protective standards and impose uniform standards for the security of presidents, vice presidents and major White House candidates.

“Regardless of how every American feels, regardless of how every American intends to vote, it is the right of the American people to determine the outcome of this election. The idea that our election could be decided by an assassin’s bullet should shake the conscience of our nation, and it requires swift action by the federal government,” Lawler said during debate on the bill Thursday.

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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is the lead Republican on the bill. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“It is shocking that it took a second assassination attempt for Donald Trump to get the same level of protective detail from the Secret Service as the president of the United States.”

Progressive Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he is backing the bill but argued it would be meaningless without stronger firearm laws.

“I support this legislation because the Secret Service must be able to protect our highest elected officials and candidates. But this legislation will do nothing to make the rest of us any safer, or change the fact that gun violence continues to take the lives of more than 100 Americans every single day,” Nadler said.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pushed back on Nadler’s comments and accused him of painting the assassination attempts as “Republicans’ fault.”

“Next thing they’re going to say is, oh, some crazy guy on the left tries to assassinate President Trump, and it’s President Trump’s fault. Oh, wait a minute. They said that too. This is ridiculous,” Jordan said.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., is leading the bill on the Democratic side. (Getty)

It is not immediately clear how the bill would classify “major” candidates.

Following the first attempt against Trump, Biden extended heightened USSS protection to the ex-president, who he was still running against at the time before dropping out of the race.

He also granted a request by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then running as a third-party candidate, for USSS protection.