In Winooski, Vermont, a small school district recently faced a barrage of racist and threatening communications following the display of a Somali flag. This decision came in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s derogatory comments about Minnesota’s Somali community.

The Winooski School District raised the Somali flag on December 5 as a gesture of support for its diverse student population, which includes approximately 9% of Somali descent.

“We wanted to provide our students and community with a sense of normalcy amidst the national climate of racial tension,” stated Wilmer Chavarria, Superintendent of the Winooski School District and a Nicaraguan immigrant. “Initially, it felt like a positive step, but that optimism was shattered by the hostility that followed,” he added.

The Somali flag was positioned alongside the Vermont state flag and beneath the U.S. flag at a building housing both K-12 classrooms and administrative offices. Somali students expressed their appreciation with cheers and applause, acknowledging the symbolic importance of the flag’s presence.

However, the district soon encountered a flood of hostile phone calls, voicemails, and social media messages targeting both staff and students. In response, some phone lines and the district’s website were temporarily disabled to protect employees from harassment. Chavarria noted that videos circulating on right-wing platforms omitted the crucial detail that the U.S. and Vermont flags remained displayed, skewing the narrative.

“Our staff members, our administrators and our community are overwhelmed right now, and they are being viciously attacked. The content of those attacks is extremely, extremely deplorable. I don’t know what other word to use,” Chavarria said Tuesday.

Mukhtar Abdullahi, an immigrant who serves as a multilingual liaison for families in the district who speak Somali and a related dialect, said “no one, no human being, regardless of where they come from, is garbage.” Students have asked if their immigrant parents are safe, he said.

“Regardless of what happens, I know we have a strong community,” Abdullahi said. “And I’m very, very, very thankful to be part of it.”

The district is helping law enforcement investigate the continued threats, Chavarria said, and additional police officers have been stationed at school buildings as a precaution. Winooski is near Burlington, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Montreal, Canada.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called the calls and messages the school received “the actions of individuals who have nothing to do with” Trump.

“Aliens who come to our country, complain about how much they hate America, fail to contribute to our economy, and refuse to assimilate into our society should not be here,” Jackson said in an email late Thursday. “And American schools should fly American flags.”

Federal authorities last week began an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota to focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S. Trump has claimed “they contribute nothing ” and said “I don’t want them in our country.” The Minneapolis mayor has defended the newcomers, saying they have started businesses, created jobs and added to the city’s cultural fabric. Most are U.S. citizens and more than half of all Somali people in Minnesota were born in the U.S.

At the school district in Vermont, Chavarria said his position as superintendent gave him authority to fly the flag for up to a week without the school board’s explicit approval.

The school district also held an event with catered Somali food, and Chavarria plans to continue to find ways to celebrate its diversity.

“I felt sorrow for the students, the families, the little kids that are my responsibility to keep safe. And it’s my responsibility to make them feel like they belong and that this is their country and this is their school district. This is what we do,” he said.

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Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.