Somali flag flown outside Vermont school building over Trump 'garbage' slur brings threats

WINOOSKI, Vt. (AP) — A small school district in Vermont was hit with racist and threatening calls and messages after a Somali flag was put up a week ago in response to President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota’s Somali community as “ garbage."

The Winooski School District began to display the flag Dec. 5 to show solidarity with a student body that includes about 9% people of Somali descent.

“We invited our students and community to come together for a little moment of normalcy in a sea of racist rhetoric nationally,” said Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, himself a Nicaraguan immigrant. “We felt really good about it until the ugliness came knocking Monday morning.”

The Somali flag was flown alongside the Vermont state flag and beneath the United States flag at a building that includes K-12 classrooms and administrative offices. Somali students cheered and clapped, telling administrators the flag flying meant a great deal to them, he said.

What ensued was a deluge of phone calls, voicemails and social media posts aimed at district workers and students. Some school phone lines were shut down — along with the district website — as a way to shield staff from harassment. Chavarria said videos of the event did not also show the U.S. and Vermont flags were still up and spread through right-wing social media apps, leaving out the important context.

“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, a former mill town of about 8,000 people, is near Burlington, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Montreal, Canada.

Somali refugees came to the area beginning in 2003 as part of a U.S. government approved resettlement plan, according to the Somali Bantu Community Association of Vermont.

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.

Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

A Somali flag flies alongside the United States and Vermont flags outside the Winooski School District building, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

A Winooski Police vehicle is parked outside of the Winooski Police Department, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria works at his desk, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

A Somali flag flies alongside the United States and Vermont flags outside the Winooski School District building, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Winooski, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

NEW YORK (AP) — More drops for superstars that had earlier soared in Wall Street's frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology are dragging the U.S. stock market off their records on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% from its all-time high set the day before, and the weakness for tech stocks yanked the Nasdaq composite down a market-leading 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 266 points, or 0.5%, from its own record set the day before, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Broadcom dragged the market lower and tumbled 10.5% even though the chip company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Analysts called the performance solid, and CEO Hock Tan said strong 74% growth in AI semiconductor revenue helped lead the way.

But investors may have been concerned with some of Broadcom’s financial forecasts, including how much profit it can squeeze out of each $1 of revenue. The AI heavyweight may also have simply run out of momentum after its stock came into the day with a surge of 75.3% for the year so far, more than quadruple the S&P 500’s gain.

Broadcom’s stumble came a day after Oracle plunged nearly 11% despite likewise reporting a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Doubts remain about whether all the spending that Oracle is doing on AI technology will end up being worth it, along with how it will pay for it. Such questions are dogging the AI industry broadly, even as many billions of dollars continue to flow in.

Broadcom was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 Friday, followed by Nvidia. The chip company that's become the poster child of the AI boom fell 2.5%.

The stock market was also broadly feeling pressure from the bond market, where the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.19% from 4.14% late Thursday. The gains were biggest for yields of the longest-term Treasurys, which tend to track long-term expectations for economic growth and inflation.

The drops for AI superstars mark a return toward Earth after they earlier had been the main engine propelling Wall Street higher. Other stocks that used to struggle with uncertainty about the U.S. economy’s strength and what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates, meanwhile, have been doing better.

The stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has much less of an emphasis on tech, are still up 1% for the week so far. That's much better than the Nasdaq composite's drop of 1.7%.

Even with Friday's rise in yields, investors are feeling more optimistic about interest rates. The Fed earlier this week cut its main interest rate for the third time this year and indicated another cut may be ahead in 2026. Wall Street loves lower rates because they can boost the economy and send prices for investments higher, even if they potentially make inflation worse.

The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, did hint on Wednesday that interest rates may be on hold for a while. But he helped soothe nerves when his comments appeared less harsh than some investors expected in shutting off the possibility of more cuts in 2026.

Stocks of travel-related companies were relatively strong on Friday, as nearly as many stocks rose in the S&P 500 as fell. Oil prices have eased this week, which should help trim their bills, and hopes are rising that easier interest rates will support the economy and encourage more people to take trips.

Southwest Airlines climbed 2.5%, while Norwegian Cruise Line steamed 1.4% higher. .

The biggest gain in the S&P 500 came from Lululemon Athletica, which jumped 11.1% after reporting better profit and revenue for the three months through Nov. 2 than analysts expected. It also said its CEO, Calvin McDonald, plans to step down at the end of January following pressure to boost revenue.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.

Stocks jumped 1.7% in Hong Kong and rose 1.4% in Tokyo for two of the world’s bigger gains.

AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.

Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)