Tag: ohio

Cincinnati Police Chief Who Was Sued For Anti-White Discrimination Placed on Leave

Cincinnati Police Chief Terri Theetge was placed on paid administrative leave after she was sued for anti-white bias.

“The City continues to face serious public safety challenges that underscore the need for stability at the command level. Therefore, I’ve named Assistant Chief Adam Hennie as Interim Police Chief. Our focus remains on maintaining stability within the department and ensuring the highest standards of service to our residents. I have full confidence in Interim Chief Hennie and the department’s command staff to continue their dedicated work at this time,” said City Manager Sheryl Long, WLWT reported.

“Assistant Chief Adam Hennie has been named interim chief,” the outlet reported.

Recall that Theetge previously blamed social media after a violent mob of mostly black males beat a white couple at jazz festival over the summer.

Teresa Theetge held a press conference on the beating of the white couple.

Theetge said five people in connection to the mob beating were charged. She also blasted social media posters for their coverage of the mob beatings.

“The post that we’ve seen does not depict the entire incident. That is one version of what occurred,” Theetge said.

“I think by the irresponsibility with social media is it just shows one side of the equation quite frequently without context, without factual context, and then people run with that and then it grows legs and it becomes something bigger that we then have to try to manage as part of the investigation,” she said.

“Social media and mainstream media and their commentaries are misrepresentation of the circumstances surrounding any given event,” she added.

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Ohio Senate Passes Marijuana DUI Bill Aimed At Protecting Drivers Who Aren’t High Behind The Wheel From Prosecution

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed legislation last week to overhaul the way that prosecutors must prove whether a person was driving under the influence of marijuana.

Ohio, like most the rest of the nation, has liberalized its marijuana laws over the past decade, now allowing recreational and medical use of the drug in a variety of forms.

This has posed a tricky challenge of setting a legal standard that prohibits driving while under the influence of marijuana, while not ensnaring people who are sober on the road but have used the drug in the past few days.

And unlike with alcohol’s well established limit of .08 percent of blood alcohol content as the legal threshold for impaired driving, the science around cannabis concentration in the blood is far murkier. Some people with high concentrations wouldn’t exhibit behavioral signs of impairment, while some people with low concentrations would, studies show.

“The current law allows for the conviction of innocent people, 100 percent straight out,” said Tim Huey in an interview, who lobbied for the bill on behalf of fellow DUI defense attorneys.

What the bill would do for drivers of accused of being high

Senate Bill 55, if agreed to by the Ohio House and the governor, would bring two big changes for people accused of driving while high. For one, it ends prosecutors’ current ability to convict drivers for driving under the influence based solely on the presence of marijuana “metabolites” in a person’s system.

Metabolites are the non-psychoactive byproduct of marijuana produced as the body breaks down (metabolizes) marijuana. Those metabolites can linger in a person’s system as long as 30 days after use, according to researchers and defense attorneys who support the bill.

Instead, police and prosecutors must show the presence of Delta 9-THC, the active ingredient that produces the high sensation.

The legislation also gives people accused of driving while high an opportunity to rebut the evidence against them if a comparatively lower concentration of marijuana is detected in their systems. That’s opposed to the “per se” system in current law, where a positive drug test almost guarantees a conviction.

“Basically right now we’re testing inactive metabolites, mostly through urine, and it’s really not accurate,” said Sen. Nathan Manning, a Lorain County Republican and former prosecutor who has pushed the legal change for years. “The inactive metabolites don’t show impairment, it just shows whether or not you used it [in the past].”

Several sources described the legal thresholds set in the legislation as the product of more art than science, and a compromise between prosecutors and defense attorneys who lobbied the bill.

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Ohio Judge Blocks Governor’s Hemp Product Ban From Taking Effect

Ohio stores can temporarily resume to selling intoxicating hemp products—for now.

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carl Aveni granted a 14-day temporary restraining order on Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) executive order banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products on October 14.

DeWine announced last week a 90-day executive order that bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products that also started on October 14. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for October 28.

Intoxicating hemp products are items that contain THC that are sold anywhere other than licensed marijuana dispensaries including gas stations, smoke shops and CBD stores, among others.

Marijuana is not considered an intoxicating hemp product and is legal in Ohio. This ban does not affect the marijuana law passed by voters in 2023.

“While we continue to fight in court, today’s developments underscore our continued desire to work with the General Assembly to pass permanent legislation regarding intoxicating hemp,” DeWine said in a statement.

Titan Logistic Group, Fumee Smoke and Vape and Invicta Partners—all members of the Ohio Healthy Alternatives Association—filed a lawsuit last week against the ban, arguing DeWine is breaking federal and state law by restricting access to these products.

“Today’s decision allows thousands of hardworking Ohio entrepreneurs to continue supporting their families and serving consumers who rely on access to safe, legal, and properly regulated hemp products,” Ohio Healthy Alternatives Association said in a statement.

The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

“The Executive Order is overly broad in that it applies to all hemp and hemp products including those that are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill and Ohio’s current laws,” the lawsuit says.

“It is also vague because there is no definition of ‘intoxicating hemp’ in the Ohio Revised Code or Ohio Administrative Code.”

DeWine—who has been calling on lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products since January 2024—spent much of last week’s press conference where he announced the ban talking about the need to protect children from these products.

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As Ohio’s Intoxicating Hemp Product Ban Takes Effect, Business Owners Brace For Impact

Ohioans who sell intoxicating hemp products are worried what the 90-day ban that goes into effect on Tuesday will mean for their businesses and customers.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) recently announced a 90-day executive order that bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products that starts October 14.

Intoxicating hemp products are items that contain THC that are sold anywhere other than licensed marijuana dispensaries including gas stations, smoke shops and CBD stores, among others.

Todd Hicks opened his new CBD store in Columbus days before DeWine announced the ban.

“It’s been heartbreaking,” he said. “Honestly, it’s been totally heartbreaking. I don’t know which direction to go.”

Hicks said he will likely have to close his new shop and let go of his three employees.

“I can’t afford them,” he said. “Well, there’s nothing for them to do, right? They can’t sell the product. There’s no one going to be answering the door or coming to the door to actually buy the product. So I don’t need them.”

Children getting ahold of intoxicating hemp products is a parental issue, Hicks said.

“They’re digging it out of their parents’ purse or something like that,” he said. “It’s not a sale issue.”

Mark Fashian, president of hemp product wholesaler Midwest Analytical Solutions in Delaware, Ohio, said the ban will put him out of business. He works with more than 500 stores around Ohio that sell intoxicating hemp products.

“We typically will sell to smoke shops or gas stations or convenience stores or drive-thrus, and every one of those have a mechanism for carding anyone,” Fashian said. “There is definitely carding happening all over the place.”

He said those shops are worried about how the ban will impact them.

“They’re just worried,” Fashian said. “They don’t know what to do. They don’t know what to do with their products.”

Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp in Kentucky, which sells its products in more than 300 Ohio retail stores, said the intoxicating hemp ban has caused lots of confusion.

“Our retailer and distributor partners are very unhappy,” he said. “It’s really frustrating to watch the Republican Party be an anti-business party… To see the governor and members of the legislature be anti-business on this front is very concerning when other states have been able to figure this out.”

Kim Bryant, a salesperson at Your CBD Store Marion, said the average age of their customer is 50 years old.

“They want gummies for pain and gummies for sleep,” she said. “People want that instead of opioids or prescription drugs… The older people, they have no desire to go to a medical marijuana or recreational marijuana facility.”

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Meet The Radical Left Candidate Running for School Board in Ohio

Across America, parents are waking up to how deeply politics has infiltrated K–12 education. 

That’s why YouthVote exists—to expose the growing number of local candidates who prioritize ideology over education. 

YouthVote’s mission is simple but urgent: fix America’s schools by informing voters, holding school boards accountable, and empowering parents to protect their children’s education. 

With dozens of investigations and reports nationwide on radical candidates, YouthVote continues to shed light on individuals whose values threaten to undermine classrooms and communities.

One of those individuals is Rachel Gilman, a candidate for the Indian Creek Local School District Board in Ohio. 

A quick look at Gilman’s social media reveals everything parents need to know. 

Her posts promote Pride-themed books for children and call for LGBTQ propaganda to be embedded in school libraries—the same kinds of materials parents across the country have objected to for promoting sexualized and ideological content to minors. 

She has openly supported efforts to include gender ideology in school reading lists, showing little regard for parental consent or local community standards.

Even more disturbing are her radical pro-abortion posts. 

Gilman has shared graphic images of naked pregnant women smeared with blood to form the American flag, complete with clothes hangers replacing the stars—a grotesque and politicized display meant to shock, not educate. 

These are not the actions of a responsible leader or someone focused on improving student achievement. They reflect an agenda rooted in cultural activism, not classroom excellence.

And yet, this is the person asking to oversee your children’s education. Parents in Indian Creek should understand exactly what’s at stake. 

School boards are supposed to safeguard educational quality, transparency, and family values — not serve as platforms for social engineering.

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Ohio Governor Issues Order Banning Intoxicating Hemp Product Sales For 90 Days

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has issued a 90-day executive order banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products starting this coming Tuesday.

Intoxicating hemp products are items that contain THC that are sold anywhere other than licensed marijuana dispensaries including gas stations, smoke shops and CBD stores, among others. This ban includes THC-infused beverages.

“I am taking action today…to get these products off the streets and to have them taken off our shelves,” DeWine said Wednesday during a press conference. “Intoxicating hemp is dangerous, and we need to better protect our children… We believe this is the right thing to do.”

The 90-day executive order ends on January 12, 2026, and then it will be up to the lawmakers to decide if they want to see further action taken on intoxicating hemp.

“I’m not going to tell them what to do, but we have to have some control of this product,” DeWine said. “We can’t have a situation where it is legal for people to sell this to underage kids.”

Those shops who violate the executive order could be subject to a $500 fine for each day intoxicating hemp products remain on their shelves.

The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

“After these laws were passed, chemists began manipulating compounds in the legal, non-intoxicated hemp plant, turning these compounds into intoxicating THC, including Delta-8 and Delta-9, which are found in marijuana,” DeWine said. “It’s a totally different product.”

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Illegal Alien Harbored in Chicago by Far-Left Gov. Pritzker Indicted for Running Human and Sex-Trafficking Ring in Ohio

A Chinese illegal alien living in Chicago under Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker’s sanctuary policies has been indicted for running a human and sex-trafficking ring across state lines.

A Marion County Grand Jury in Ohio has indicted Xiaoping Peng, 53, of Chicago, Illinois, on a list of serious felony charges tied to a prostitution and trafficking enterprise that operated out of a so-called “Chinese Spa” located at 1288 Delaware Avenue in Marion, Ohio, according to Marion County Now.

According to the news outlet citing authorities, Peng entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration and managed to remain in Chicago after filing an asylum claim—a loophole frequently exploited under the administration’s open-border policies.

Officials say Peng acted as a courier and recruiter, transporting female victims across state lines and collecting proceeds tied to sexual exploitation. The investigation uncovered that the operation trafficked women from Illinois to Ohio between March 6 and June 17, 2025.

When Marion police raided the spa, they discovered evidence of ongoing forced prostitution and human exploitation, including communications and financial trails linking Peng to multiple states.

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Whoops—Ohio Accidentally Excludes Most Major Porn Platforms From Anti-Porn Law

Remember when people used to say “Epic FAIL”? I’m sorry, but there’s no other way to describe Ohio’s new age verification law, which took effect on September 30.

A variation on a mandate that’s been sweeping U.S. statehouses, this law requires online platforms offering “material harmful to juveniles”—by which authorities mean porn—to check photo IDs or use “transactional data” (such as mortgage, education, and employment records) to verify that all visitors are adults.

But lawmakers have written the law in such a way that it excludes most major porn publishing platforms.

“This is why you don’t rush [age verification] bills into an omnibus,” commented the Free Speech Coalition’s Mike Stabile on Bluesky.

Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced a standalone age verification bill back in February, but it languished in a House committee. A similar bill introduced in 2024 also failed to advance out of committee.

The version that wound up passing this year did so as part of the state’s omnibus budget legislation (House Bill 96). This massive measure—more than 3,000 pages—includes a provision that any organization that “disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet” must verify that anyone attempting to view that material is at least 18 years old.

The bill also states that such organizations must “utilize a geofence system maintained and monitored by a licensed location-based technology provider to dynamically monitor the geolocation of persons.”

Existing Ohio law defines material harmful to juveniles as “any material or performance describing or representing nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse” that “appeals to the prurient interest of juveniles in sex,” is “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for juveniles,” and “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value for juveniles.”

Under the new law, online distributors of “material harmful to juveniles” that don’t comply with the age check requirement could face civil actions initiated by Ohio’s attorney general.

Supporters of the law portrayed it as a way to stop young Ohioans from being able to access online porn entirely. But the biggest purveyors of online porn—including Pornhub and similar platforms, which allow users to upload as well as view content—seem to be exempt from the law.

Among the organizations exempted from age verification requirements are providers of “an interactive computer service,” which is defined by Ohio lawmakers as having the same meaning as it does under federal law.

The federal law that defines “interactive computer service”—Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—says it “means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.”

That’s a bit of a mouthful, but we have decades of jurisprudence parsing that definition. And it basically means any platform where third parties can create accounts and can generate content, from social media sites to dating apps, message boards, classified ads, search engines, comment sections, and much more.

Platforms like Pornhub unambiguously fall within this category.

In fact, Pornhub is not blocking Ohio users as it has in most other states with age verification laws for online porn, because its parent company, Aylo, does not believe the law applies to it.

“As a provider of an ‘interactive computer service’ as defined under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, it is our understanding that we are not subject to the obligations under section 1349.10 of the Ohio Revised Code regarding mandated age verification for the ‘interactive computer services’ we provide, such as Pornhub,” Aylo told Mashable.

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New Ohio Senate Bill Would Ban Sale Of Intoxicating Hemp Products To People Under 21

Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora (D) recently introduced a bill that would ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products to people under 21. Unlike some others that have been introduced, this bill would focus solely on hemp and not on changing voter-passed marijuana law.

Ohio Senate Bill 266 would also ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products that have not been tested under the same rules as marijuana and would prevent selling intoxicating hemp products that are “considered attractive to children,” according to the bill’s language.

This bill would prohibit selling an intoxicating hemp product “that bears the likeness or contains the characteristics of a realistic or fictional human, animal, or fruit, including artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings,” according to the bill’s language.

“I put this bill in to get rid of the stuff that everybody agrees is bad,” Columbus Democratic state Sen. DeMora said. “Everybody agrees [intoxicating hemp products are] targeted to children to look like Skittles and Oreo cookies and that it’s unregulated… We need to act because this stuff is poisoning kids [and] making kids sick.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has previously asked lawmakers to regulate or ban delta-8 THC products.

“It’s a huge problem,” DeWine said talking to reporters on Monday. “There’s really no regulation at all. We need regulation. We need the legislature to take action on this. We’re also looking, frankly, at some things that I might be able to do without legislative action.”

DeMora thinks marijuana and hemp products should be dealt with separately.

“Hopefully this bill will, if nothing else, we can all agree on one thing—to get the bad stuff out of the hands of kids and stop the marketing toward kids,” he said.

The 2018 Farm Bill says hemp can be grown legally if it contains less than 0.3 percent THC.

Ohio is one of about 20 states that does not have any regulations around intoxicating hemp products, according to an Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center study from November 2024.

This is one of a handful of bills in the Ohio legislature that are trying to regulate intoxicating hemp products.

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How a 24-year-old illegal migrant dad was caught posing as high school kid in the US — through one phone call

To the residents of Perrysburg, Ohio, his school pals and the guardians who welcomed him in, Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra was a 16-year-old human trafficking victim.

There was one problem.

He was really 24 years old and had a baby with his ex-fiancée a town over in Toledo.

His scheme worked for over a year, with authorities falling for a birth certificate he produced shaving six years off his age.

Then one night, Evelyn Camacho, 22, mother of Labrador-Sierra’s daughter, called the house where he was living.

His new guardians, a couple in their 60s named Kathy and Brad Mefferd, answered.

“I was questioning what the truth was,” said Camacho. “Did he lie to me about being an adult? Or did he lie to them about being a child? I didn’t know what was going on. And I care about him. He’s the father of my daughter,” she told The Post.

The Mefferds called the school, which in turn called the police. They also searched his room and made unsettling discoveries including a burner cellphone, fake ID, a semiautomatic pistol and three loaded 9mm magazines, according to an arrest affidavit.

Labrador-Sierra has since pleaded guilty to lying on immigration forms and on an application to purchase a firearm.

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