protests
Pandemic brings protests, and guns, to officials’ personal homes
First came protests outside the home of then-state health director Dr. Amy Acton. There were guns, a police presence, anti-vaccine activists, a man in Proud Boys apparel on a motorcycle, and another man wielding an anti-Semitic sign, all cluttering the sidewalks outside Acton’s bucolic suburban home. Since then, members of “Moms Against DeWine,” some of […]
U.S. Capitol locks down after pro-Trump rioters storm inside
Updated 4:56 p.m., Jan. 6, 2021. A violent mob derailed the typically routine process of Congress certifying the presidential election results on Wednesday, with the House of Representatives and Senate abruptly recessing after President Donald Trump’s supporters clashed with police and forced their way into the U.S. Capitol. Both legislative chambers were evacuated amid the […]
The top 10 unforgettable moments of a tumultuous year in D.C.
WASHINGTON — To say that 2020 has been an eventful year in the nation’s capital is an understatement. Amid a global pandemic, a bitter race for the presidency and protests over police brutality, news in Washington never let up. As the year winds to an end, let’s take a look back at the moments of […]
House bill would impose harsh new penalties on protesters and their organizations
In the wake of this summer’s massive civil-rights protests, two Republicans in the Ohio House have filed a bill that imposes harsh new penalties on certain protest-related activities.
Demas: The coronavirus crisis shows now is the time to demand more from our government
America has blown past every country in the coronavirus pandemic, with almost 4 million cases and more than 140,000 deaths. If you want to know why the most medically advanced country in the world ended up here, look no further than the malfeasance and conspiracy-mongering of President Donald Trump. The New York Times this weekend ran a devastating tick-tock […]
Unionized fast-food, janitorial, nursing home workers picket for Black Lives Matter in Toledo, Cleveland
Unionized fast-food, nursing home and janitorial workers in Toledo and Cleveland picketed Monday in solidarity with the Strike for Black Lives, a national day of action confronting systemic racism. SEIU District 1199 — a union that represents workers in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio — was one of more than 50 major national labor organizations that […]
Local and federal law enforcement using intimidation tactics against protesters, state lawyers guild says
Lawyers across the state say local and national law enforcement have been using police intimidation tactics against Black Lives Matter protesters and organizers. The Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said on Monday that police surveilled and visited at least a dozen people, seizing trash, probing for personal testimony, and asking for photos and […]
Protesters report adverse effects from tear gas exposure, demand Columbus ban chemical agents entirely
“I feel very violated by the state” Mason Hickman distinctly remembers the burning sensation as he inhaled a waft of tear gas on the Ohio Statehouse lawn when police used the chemical agent to disperse a group of peaceful protesters. Afterwards, he felt exhausted — likely because of the blistering summer heat, he thought. That […]
Law you can use: exercising your right to protest
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” – First Amendment The right to peacefully assemble and join […]
2020 uprisings, unprecedented in scope, join a long river of struggle in America
The river was the metaphor that best captured “the long, continuous movement” of the black freedom struggle for theologian, historian and civil rights activist Vincent Harding. Harding, who had served as a speechwriter for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in his groundbreaking 1981 study of African-American history, “There is a River: The Black Struggle […]
DeWine won’t ‘critique’ handling of D.C. protests, but has sent Ohio National Guardsmen there
Ohio earlier this week sent 100 members of the National Guard to serve under President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., where they’re likely to play a role in policing protests. But Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday said he “didn’t know all the facts” about a federal law-enforcement action there on Monday that has drawn international […]
Pandemic strains emergency responders with more disasters on horizon
Federal officials have more money than ever to respond to disasters, but some worry their focus on the pandemic could hamstring efforts to recover from other catastrophes. Congressional Democrats and health experts have warned in recent weeks that the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s pandemic response could come at the cost of its response to tornadoes, […]