Free Republic

It was a common scam that ended with an uncommon outcome, tragically in an Ohio driveway. William J. Brock fatally shot an Uber driver because he wrongly assumed she was part of a scheme to extract $12,000 in supposed bond money for a relative, authorities said this week. Lo-Letha Hall was a victim of the same con, summoned by the grifters to Brock’s house to retrieve a purported package for delivery. Brock later told investigators he believed Hall arrived to get the money the scammers wanted. He is now facing murder charges, to which he’s pleaded not guilty. Hall’s family...

A state official in Ohio has rejected Democrats' illegal plan to sneak Joe Biden's name onto the 2024 presidential ballot. A lawyer for the leftist party had wanted the state of accept a "provisional" certification of Biden, and Kamala Harris, as candidates, but Attorney General Dave Yost's office found the move "simply is not provided for by law." "Instead, the law mandates the Democratic Party to actually certify its president and vice-president candidates on or before August 7, 2024. No alternative process is permitted," the statement said. The problem is that Democrats, focused for the last few years on trying...

A suspected illegal immigrant from Venezuela tried his luck at robbing a bank in Ohio this week, although the heist went awry after he was unable to communicate what he wanted. Fox 8 reports that police arrested 20-year-old Yeixon Brito-Gonzalez and suspect that he is in the country illegally. Customs and Border Patrol have put a hold on him. “We have no way to tell if he is here legally or not,” said Sandusky Police Chief Jared Oliver. “But he has no proof of identification.” The failed heist took place on April 6th at around 11:30 a.m., when bank clerks...

Norfolk Southern has agreed to a $600 million settlement to resolve class-action lawsuits filed after a freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling toxic chemicals into the community. The company said in a news release Tuesday that the settlement "is another promise kept by Norfolk Southern to make it right for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities." "The agreement is designed to provide finality and flexibility for settlement class members. Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment,"...

Over the course of a decade filled with political drama and dire predictions, Ohio legislators introduced seven separate bills in an attempt to bring concealed carry to Ohio.Finally, on Jan. 8, 2004, House Bill 12 made it to the desk of Gov. Bob Taft, who signed the bill, and made Ohio the 46th state to legalize concealed carry. The new law went into effect 20 years ago today, on April 8, 2004.Buckeye Firearms Association volunteers played a key role in this battle for constitutional rights, and stood beside the governor as he signed the bill into law.However, the battle over...

Norfolk Southern reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed after a toxic train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The deal, announced Tuesday, resolves all claims within a 20-mile radius of the accident in East Palestine, Ohio, that unfolded in February 2023. It is pending federal court approval. The Center Square reached out to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office for comment but did not receive a response before this publication. Both the governor’s administration and President Joe Biden have been openly critical, however, of Norfolk Southern’s response to the derailment and accused the railroad of prioritizing profits over...

An illegal alien who has been deported at least seven times is facing charges for murder after a man’s body was discovered in Hamilton, Ohio. Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez, 46, was arrested after the body of a man, identified as Fernando Reyna Oviedo, 41, was found earlier this month. According to the Butler County Coroner’s Office, Oviedo died from a gunshot wound on April 1. BREAKING: Seven-times deported illegal Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez was just arrested and charged for m*rdering a man in Ohio.Fermin has a long criminal history and has been jailed 11 times for a range of v*olent crimes.Another innocent life was...

Filing deadlines, how do they work? While Democrats have been doing just about every nefarious thing possible to keep Donald Trump off the ballot in some states, Presidentish Joe Biden's campaign is having trouble following the established law to get their man on the ballot in Ohio. According to a report in Sunday's Washington Post, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office has informed "Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters that the Democratic National Committee’s nominating convention is scheduled too late for Biden to make the Ohio ballot."The law requires nominees to be certified at least 90 days before the...

The editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland told readers that critical coverage of Donald Trump was necessary despite their objections. “The north star here is truth,” Chris Quinn wrote in a letter from the editor on Saturday. “We tell the truth, even when it offends some of the people who pay us for information.” “The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency,” he continued. “He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse. This is...

The wife of the “ migrant influencer ” who urged people to “invade” the United States grew emotional Saturday as she revealed she’s not allowed to see her jailed husband. Veronica Torres was spotted crying outside the Sonesta Simply Suites Columbus Airport long-stay hotel in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus, a day after her husband Leonel Moreno was booked into jail . Brigitte Stelzer Moreno became popular online after posting videos to social media encouraging other migrants to invade the country and invoke squatter’s rights. In many videos, he waved around loads of cash that he claimed was from government...

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), who is fighting for his U.S. Senate seat in 2024 against Republican candidate David McCormick, joined President Joe Biden in declaring Easter Sunday “Transgender Day of Visibility.” “I’m proud to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility and support all those who are living as their authentic selves. I’ll always fight to make sure that trans and nonbinary kids, students, and adults are protected and respected in America,” Casey posted on X.

The wife of the “migrant influencer” who urged people to “invade” the United States grew emotional Saturday as she revealed she’s not allowed to see her jailed husband. Veronica Torres was spotted crying outside the Sonesta Simply Suites Columbus Airport long-stay hotel in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus, a day after her husband Leonel Moreno was booked into jail. “We don’t know where they took him and I can’t see him,” she told The Post. “I can’t give you any more information because I don’t know much.” Many hotel guests — half of whom are paying guests... ...

G.M. had provided information about braking, acceleration and speed to LexisNexis Risk Solution and Verisk, firms that generated driver risk profiles for insurers... General Motors said Friday that it had stopped sharing details about how people drove its cars with two data brokers that created risk profiles for the insurance industry. The decision followed a New York Times report this month that G.M. had, for years, been sharing data about drivers’ mileage, braking, acceleration and speed with the insurance industry. The drivers were enrolled — some unknowingly, they said — in OnStar Smart Driver, a feature in G.M.’s internet-connected cars...

The Senate Majority PAC and an affiliated nonprofit have injected themselves into Ohio and Montana Republican primaries this cycle... Groups aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have meddled in several Republican primaries this election cycle, a tactic that has been underway a number of years. The Senate Majority PAC (SMP), which works to elect and keep Democrats in Congress' upper chamber, has targeted Republican primaries in at least two states for the 2024 elections. SMP tends to maneuver using other groups to conceal its involvement until after the primaries. It mainly targets swing states by boosting candidates supported by...

In the spring of 2021, volunteer investigators from Ohio acquired publicly available voter data for all 88 counties and started their analysis. Over the next year the researchers found hundreds of thousands of records in their state’s voter rolls with irregular data for which they couldn’t identify consistent explanations, no matter who they asked. In late summer of 2022, they reached out to Marly Hornik, co-leader of New York Citizens Audit, whose team had identified similar inaccuracies in the New York State data. [SNIP] The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires election rolls to be accurate. The Ohio team...

DEFIANCE, Ohio (WANE) — An area of southeast Defiance has been shut down due to an explosion at an oil refinery Wednesday afternoon. The explosion happened at the Glycerin Traders oil refinery plant in southeast Defiance. Around 4:15 p.m., the Defiance Police Department posted on Facebook warning residents to avoid the area of Columbia Street near Ottawa Avenue, Greenler Street and Sauers Avenue due to an “emergency situation.” An employee at Clifford R. Hunt Inc., a business located across the street from the explosion, told WANE 15 he could feel the explosion from his office and could see flames at...

Trump-backed candidate Bernie Moreno will win the Republican nomination for Senate in Ohio to face off against incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) this November, Decision Desk HQ has projected.Moreno, a former car dealership owner and the father-in-law of Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), defeated state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) in a messy primary that intensified in the closing days of the campaign.Moreno had built up a significant advantage over his opponents in endorsements, gathering support from former President Trump as well as influential Ohio politicians Sen. J.D. Vance (R) and Rep. Jim Jordan...

Decision Desk HQ projects — Trump endorsed Bernie Moreno wins the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio

Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) SAID Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he will support the Republican nomination when asked about endorsing former President Donald Trump. Anchor Dana Bash said, “We saw that the former president earned enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination this past week, you have not endorsed him yet. Will you?”

A woman has detailed the incredible story of finding out that her 'boring' father was actually a fugitive bank robber - after he made the jaw-dropping confession on his deathbed.' 'Some women rely on their mothers this way. I counted on my dad.' Ashley wrote in a first-person piece for Newsweek. She grew up believing that her father Thomas Randele was a model citizen and 'typical suburban dad,' and was completely devastated when he was diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable form of lung cancer in 2021 at just 71. However, only six weeks before his death, the loving daughter...