Tag: ohio

FBI Raids Soros-Connected Ohio Voter Mobilization Group In Fraud Investigation

Federal investigators executed search warrants at the headquarters of a Soros-aligned voter mobilization organization in Ohio as part of what sources described as an ongoing fraud investigation.

FBI agents searched the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on June 11 and conducted interviews with members of the organization across the state, according to reports. Some agents reportedly served subpoenas or sought to seize electronic devices during the operation.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter later told CBS News that the federal action was tied to a fraud-related investigation.

The Department of Justice declined to discuss the specifics of the case.

“Search warrants are authorized by a judge and anything said by any organization or others in the media is unfounded speculation, as the target of any investigation is not privy to the search warrant affidavit until after indictment,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative is a nonprofit group involved in voter registration and voter mobilization efforts and works closely with Democrats in Ohio. The organization has also played a prominent role in statewide ballot campaigns and referendum efforts.

The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s effort to increase enforcement of election-related laws and allegations of voter fraud.

Tax records show the organization reported more than $10 million in revenue during 2024.

Funding for the group has come from several major Democratic-aligned organizations and labor unions, including entities connected to the Soros family, the New Venture Fund, the Tides Foundation, the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union.

According to the report, the Soros family’s Foundation to Promote Open Society provided approximately $1.9 million to the organization between 2019 and 2020.

The Open Society Action Fund later contributed an additional $1 million to a related organization in 2021 and another $1 million in 2023.

Keep reading

Ohio police chief arrested in Florida after grand jury hands down 70-count child sex indictment

An Ohio police chief is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars after being slapped with a 70-count indictment for alleged sex crimes involving a child.

Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was taken into custody without incident Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. 

A Clermont County grand jury indicted the Blanchester, Ohio, resident on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — all third-degree felonies.

If convicted of all charges, Essert faces a maximum penalty of 280 years in prison.

The allegations stem from offenses that authorities claim occurred between 2005 and 2010, while Essert was an instructor at the “Young Marines” and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career

Officials said the alleged victim was a student of Essert’s and that the crimes took place across multiple locations in Clermont and Hamilton counties.

“It takes tremendous courage for a victim to come forward, especially when the accused wears a badge and holds a position of authority,” Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton said following the indictment.

“Today’s indictment demonstrates that no one is above the law. Every victim deserves to be heard, and every allegation will be thoroughly investigated and pursued in accordance with the law.”

Keep reading

 FBI Raids Ohio Democrat Ballot Harvesting Group’s Headquarters — This Follows Thousands of Suspect Registrations in 2024 Election

The FBI raided the Cleveland headquarters of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) on Thursday, as part of an ongoing federal investigation into suspected ballot harvesting and voter fraud operations in the key swing state of Ohio.

Agents also fanned out across the state, showing up at the homes of OOC leaders, staff members, volunteers, and connected community organizers in places like Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. They served subpoenas, seized electronic devices, and questioned people directly about voter fraud.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative presents itself as a “pro-democracy” voter registration nonprofit focused on underrepresented communities. In reality, it functions as a Democrat-aligned operation deeply embedded in progressive get-out-the-vote efforts across Ohio’s major cities.

Amuse reported:

Here is more information on the FBI raids. The FBI hit the main office and several homes of the Democrat operatives.

Via the Statehouse News Bureau:

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that organizes political activities for Democratic and progressive causes, has been raided by the FBI.

Ohio Organizing Collaborative Board Member Prentiss Haney said FBI agents came to the organization’s Cleveland office yesterday. He said agents have fanned out and questioned people who work with his organization. Haney said agents have searched and sometimes taken laptops and electronic devices as well as interviewed people who work with the organization.

“This is not normal business. I mean there’s no reason for over 100 agents to be knocking on the doors of everyday Ohioans,” Haney said. “Demanding and accusing people of voter fraud as if it was a witch hunt and, and scaring them with the children, following them in their cars to school and to work. I mean this was a full-out assault. I mean, we haven’t seen anything like this since Selma. And so this was completely um politically motivated.”

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative has a documented history of voter registration fraud. In 2017, paid canvasser Rebecca A. Hammonds, who worked directly for the group, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of falsely registering people to vote and forging signatures on voter registration forms. She was sentenced to six months in jail. Some of the fraudulent registrations were even submitted for dead people.

Keep reading

OpenAI Eyes Massive 10-Gigawatt Ohio Data Center

OpenAI is moving along in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, according to a new report from The Information, in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia. This comes as Ohio lawmakers unveiled new legislation aiming to regulate data center build-outs.

The massive 10 GW data center would be the largest data center development ever considered, with a potential buildout cost topping $500 billion based on current prices for chips, labor, and construction materials.

Under the proposed deal, OpenAI would control the chip stacks through a long-term lease and begin making payments once the facility starts operations.

The first phase is expected to come online in 2028. For some context, 10 GW of power is roughly the output of several large nuclear reactors or about 10 large gas-fired power plants running at full capacity. Each GW can power about 700,000 to 1 million homes.

The data center development would require dedicated power generation, substations, transmission lines, cooling infrastructure, access to water or advanced cooling systems, and phased construction over several years.

Simultaneously, Ohio lawmakers have unveiled Substitute House Bill 646, which aims to regulate data center buildouts in the state.

“The Joint Data Center Study Committee has done its job,” Senate Finance Chair Brian Chavez (R-Marietta), who is also the co-chair of the data center committee, said, and quoted by local outlet ABC News 5.

Bill 646 would create a new electric rate class for data centers to ensure that the costs of generation, transmission, and distribution are entirely paid by hyperscalers.

“Make sure the ratepayers are kept harmless, held harmless, and that data centers pay for whatever they’re causing,” Chavez said.

This year alone, Goldman calculates that hyperscalers will unleash $800 billion in data center capex.

Keep reading

Nude Shrek Text to Ohio State Senator Reportedly Lands Blogger in Jail

Last week, The Columbus Dispatch reported that D.J. Byrnes—an Ohio blogger who runs a Statehouse gossip Substack called The Rooster—was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant at the Ohio Statehouse. Byrnes’ arrest, according to reporting by Signal Ohio, likely stems from a picture he texted to state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R–Kirtland) on May 6. The offending image? A “digitally altered version of Shrek, the ogre with a titular children’s movie franchise, with his penis exposed,” according to Signal Ohio. Police records did not identify Cirino by name, but the outlet confirmed he was the “recipient of the text messages based on the text messages themselves and other details within the police report.”

An affidavit with Byrnes’ arrest report described the ogre as “fully nude with an exposed and erect humanlike penis engaged in an act of masturbation,” according to the outlet. The text exchange also included a message calling Cirino “Young Mussolini.”

On May 8, Cirino reportedly emailed the Kirtland Police Department asking officers to file charges against Byrnes.

“Not only is the message harassing but the disgusting picture is pornographic in nature and not something I want to see on any of my devices,” said the email sent to Kirtland police.

After his arrest on June 1, Byrnes was booked into the Franklin County Jail, where he says he spent 23 hours in custody, according to a statement posted on The Rooster. The Columbus Dispatch reported that he was released on bond on June 2. Byrnes wrote that he would not comment on the specifics of the allegations, but he says he believes he will be found innocent in court. He was arrested on telecommunications harassment charges, according to Signal Ohio, and could face up to six months in jail.

In its analysis of the case, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a pro–free speech organization, cautioned that, “as in essentially all First Amendment cases, context and details matter.” Based on the available facts, however, the organization wrote that “Byrnes should not be facing telecommunications harassment charges.”

FIRE argues that Byrnes’ “shrexting” did not amount to obscenity because the image fails to pass the three-prong obscenity test set by Miller. v. California: Would the average person see the work as appealing “to the prurient interest”? Does it depict sexual conduct in a “patently offensive way” as defined by state laws? And finally, does the work lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”? The text was clearly a piece of “political mockery,” and it was not intended to “arouse anyone’s sexual interest,” FIRE wrote, meaning it fails the Miller test. The “handful of afternoon texts,” from what FIRE reviewed, did not constitute harassment either.

More details about Byrnes’ case may emerge when he appears in court, but if a public official did in fact direct the police department to arrest Byrnes because of his texts, that poses a clear threat to free speech. The Shrek image may be absurd, shocking, and hilarious (depending on your sense of humor), but being punished for exercising your free speech right to criticize and troll (or ogre) public officials is no laughing matter.

Keep reading

Ohio State Senate Passes Bill to Put Voter ID Amendment on November Ballot – Trump Responds

The Ohio State Senate passed a bill last week, putting a constitutional amendment that would mandate voter ID in Ohio elections on the November ballot.

President Trump responded to the bill’s passage, commending the Republican lawmakers behind the push, adding, “Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT.”

This will prevent a future Democratic legislature from reversing the current law requiring voter ID by codifying it in the state’s constitution. However, it does not institute voter ID requirements for mail-in voters, leaving a massive loophole for mail-in ballot fraud.

According to a press release from the Ohio State Senate,

The Ohio Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 10, Sponsored by State Senator Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township) and State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), which would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to enshrine Ohio’s Voter ID laws in the state’s Constitution.

“With AI being easily able to generate items like utility bills and bank statements, it is essential to constitutionally protect voter photo-ID requirements,” said Senator Timken. “This resolution ensures that it is easy to vote but hard to cheat.”

Section 1 A of the legislation states: ” Electors shall provide identification in order to vote, in accordance with laws passed by the General Assembly.” Among the approved forms of photo ID are:

  • A driver’s license or state ID card issues by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
  • A United States passport or passport card.
  • A United States military identification card.
  • An Ohio National Guard card.
  • An identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans affairs.

The resolution also allows the General Assembly to authorize other forms of photo identification not specified in the resolution, ensuring that Ohio’s elections will remain secure as technology advances.

“Voter photo-ID requirements are widely supported by Americans,” said Senator Gavarone. “Yet in states all around the country, these election protections are being repealed. This joint resolution will allow the people of Ohio to ingrain this important election-integrity measure in our state’s constitution.”

Upon passage by the Ohio House, the proposed amendment will be place on the November ballot, requiring a simple majority vote to go into effect.

Democrats in Ohio claimed that Republicans only seek to boost voter turnout in the midterms. “They think this is going to get their voters out to vote. I think that they’re wrong,” State Senator Bill Demora said, decrying the bill as “purely political.”

Keep reading

Violent Teen Takeover, Brawls Shut Down Church Fundraiser in Columbus, Ohio – 11 Arrested for Fighting, Theft, and Vandalism

Nearly a dozen arrests were made on Friday during a fundraising festival for St. Catharine Catholic Church near the Columbus, Ohio, suburb of Bexley, after a teen takeover event led to multiple fights. 

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther condemned the behavior in a statement, saying, “Our neighborhood events should be welcoming places for residents and families to come together, and this behavior is unacceptable.”

Additionally, “a few businesses reported criminal mischief during the period,” Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler said.

Video from the teen takeover shows the chaotic scene with two females fighting as a mob surrounds them, cheering the brawl on with cameras. Police intervened and separated the two youths.

One young black female said, “Ss a teen, I am really embarrassed that you guys are out here acting like this.” She continued, “We came out here to have fun. We can never do anything right. You guys always act up, and this is completely embarrassing.”

Keep reading

Ohio State University Reaches $100 Million Settlement With Nearly 300 Sex Abuse Survivors

Ohio State University has reached a $100 million settlement with nearly 300 former students who had accused the school’s campus doctor of sexually assaulting them decades ago, the school and a lawyer for the victims said on Wednesday.

The settlement with 279 of the 280 former students was ratified by the university’s board on Wednesday. It followed years of litigation over accusations of decades of abuse by Richard Strauss.

The abuse occurred from 1978 to 1998, the year he retired from the faculty.

“The mediation and its confidentiality are continuing as the parties work to finalize the details of the settlements, and additional information will be shared as appropriate,” the school and a lawyer for the victims said in a joint statement.

In February, the university reached eight additional settlements, bringing the total to 304 survivors and more than $60 million.

Strauss, who killed himself in 2005, was employed by Ohio State’s athletic department and medical staff for nearly two decades.

A 2019 report detailing the investigative findings said that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 men, nearly all of whom were students, and that university staff who knew of the abuse failed to act. The abuse included groping and fondling of the students’ genitals and other acts under the guise of a medical examination.

News of the investigation and its findings prompted more than 500 plaintiffs to sue Ohio State, alleging they had been sexually abused by Strauss and that the school had shown deliberate indifference.

Keep reading

Ohio allows child marriage. Some lawmakers are OK with that

Some Republican state senators blocked a bill that would have closed a loophole that allows teens to marry at age 17, which means Ohio might remain among states that permit child marriage.

“All I know is some people in the Republican caucus think it’s OK to have child marriage,” said state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp.

The bill calls for raising the marriage age to 18 and older for all parties.

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee planned to vote on Senate Bill 341 but senators pulled it off the agenda, along with other pending bills. This week, SB341 isn’t on the committee agenda.

Blessing declined to comment but the bill came off the committee voting agenda after Republican senators held a private caucus meeting.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, said advocates will meet with senators to explain why changing the law is needed.

Senate President Rob McColley, who is running for lieutenant governor with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, said even straightforward issues sometimes need further exploration. “We’ve still got time left in this legislative session.” 

Fraidy Reiss, founder of Unchained At Last, a national organization seeking to end forced and child marriage, said she doesn’t know who in the senate is holding up a bill that had no opposition and would end an abusive practice that harms children.

“It is shameful. It is a slap in the face to girls in Ohio,” she said.

Keep reading

Rep. Brandon Gill Vows Accountability as Oversight Committee Task Force Launches Investigation into BILLIONS of Dollars in Ohio Medicaid Fraud

Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) announced last week that his team on the House Oversight Committee is going to tear a newly uncovered Ohio-based Medicaid fraud scheme down “piece by piece.” 

Gill was tapped this month to chair the Oversight Committee’s new Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, where he’s planning to uncover billions of dollars in fraud.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars of your tax money is being wasted in an Ohio Medicaid scheme that we’re uncovering on the House Oversight Committee. We believe this scheme stretches into the billions of dollars,” Gill said in a clip shared on X on Friday. “The Ohio Medicaid Agency had years to figure this out. A reporter did it in just a couple months, and we’re building on their work.”

“We’re saving you taxpayer dollars, and we’re ending fraud on my task force at the House Oversight Committee,” he added.

“Fraudsters stole hundreds of millions of your tax dollars through an Ohio Medicaid scandal. My GOP Oversight Task Force is pulling this scheme apart piece by piece,” Gill wrote on X.

Keep reading