Former Republican presidential candidate and Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy held a ticketed town hall in Springfield on Thursday night.
It comes after the local city has been put in the national spotlight because of xenophobic rumors about Springfield's growing Haitian American population spread by some Republican politicians, including U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
About 350 people attended, and another 100 were left at the door; many wore Donald Trump-branded clothing.
Republican state Rep. and former Montgomery County sheriff Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) opened for Ramaswamy and spoke about immigration.
"We have to figure out a way to close these borders," Plummer said.
Ramaswamy and attendees who spoke during the town hall repeated numerous falsehoods about Haitian Americans in Springfield. They also touched on other hot political topics like opioid use, crime and the military.
"People are just starving for conversation in this country." Ramaswamy said, "We've been told, mostly by the media, to shut up, sit down, do as you're told, to sweep it under the rug, or else you're guilty of some sin."
A handful of Haitian Americans tried to attend the town hall, but they were turned away at the door due to capacity issues.
Ramaswamy, who grew up an hour from Springfield in the Cincinnati suburbs, said he met with Haitian American community leaders before the event.
