“What Trump did to us should be a warning”

Springfield resident Robin Inboden published this Letter to the Editor in the Washington Post:

I live in Springfield, Ohio. For many of the 35 years I have lived here, I had to explain to people where the town is. Now, everyone knows — or thinks they do.

Because Donald Trump and JD Vance have appropriated the town as a set for their racist falsehoods, Springfield lives under a pall of fear. The local Democratic Central Committee asked supporters to wave signs and flags outside their building during meetings because many members were afraid to attend. Children fear attending school because of bomb threats. A friend opted out of our regular game night because she does not want to be out after dark. Worried parents have insisted on taking their children home from a local university. And, of course, many of our Haitian neighbors are terrified to leave their homes.

You know who is not afraid to go out and about in Springfield? Proud Boys. Neo-Nazis. People handing out Ku Klux Klan fliers. Some of these people paraded swastika flags and rifles during our jazz festival. Their presence, and a torrent of threats, forced local officials to cancel the annual CultureFest celebration of diverse food, arts and music. These far-right groups clearly feel as though they have not just permission, but encouragement, from the Republican candidates. It is unsettling to live in this menacing atmosphere.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance hope to make every town Springfield, where the angry are emboldened by lies and the people they seek to punish live in fear. As someone who has lived through this transformation, trust me: You don’t want to live in Trump’s America.