Donald Trump Jr. on Friday suggested that the United States might be under attack because of recent train derailments in Ohio and Michigan.
"Are we under attack?" Trump Jr. posted on Twitter. "Does anyone believe you can have all of these major train derailments, all with severe environmental consequences, and it’s just total coincidence?"
"Why have we not seen anyone even asking if this is perhaps retribution for our supposed attack on Nordstream 2?" he added, referring a report claiming that the United States had secretly sabotaged gas pipelines last year in the Baltic Sea.
Trump Jr. has also claimed that the Biden administration is ignoring the derailments because it has impacted predominantly white communities.
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"Maybe if the people of East Palestine Ohio pretend they’re Palestinians from the Middle East the Biden administration will actually pay some attention to them and send them aid," he posted on his father's Truth Social website.
The Norfolk Southern cargo train derailment on February 3 sparked a massive fire.
To avert explosion, the railroad conducted a controlled release of the chemicals, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air, the Ohio governor's office said.
"We're going to get to the bottom of this," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing, adding that "we're going to hold Norfolk Southern accountable."
Hundreds of evacuated residents have been allowed to return home, however many have voiced alarm over health issues, with some reporting headaches and stating that they fear they may end up with cancer in several years.
Some 3,500 fish meanwhile died along 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) of nearby streams, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported.
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Authorities say tests show that the air is safe and no pollutants are being detected in the municipal water system.
However those whose water comes from private wells should continue to use bottled water until their well is tested, they said.
One resident told local TV station WKYC that people were "suspicious, paranoid and worried."
Another, Kelly Felger, told CNN that "I'm scared, I'm scared for my family, I'm scared for my town."
On Thursday, another Norfolk Southern train derailed outside Detroit, Michigan in the small community of Van Buren Township.
Of the overturned cars, one contained agricultural grain and the others were empty, the township's public safety department said on Facebook.
"The involved train had one railcar that contained liquid chlorine; however it was located away from the overturned section," it said.
With additional reporting by AFP
