Free Republic

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — UPDATE: Law enforcement moved in around 10 p.m. to disburse the encampment. Protesters said people were praying in tents as officers moved in to rip them open. Officers pushed the group off of the lawn until the protest broke up.

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...

Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who was recently blasted for using a disparaging term for Black people during a House hearing, is officially the largest self-funded candidate of a Senate primary race in U.S. history. Trone contributed $18.5 million of his own money to his Maryland Senate campaign, Fox News confirmed. And he brought in a total of over $40 million, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). No candidate running in a Senate primary has contributed this amount in recorded Senate primary history. "David Trone has been crystal clear that he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to...

SOUTH CHARLESTON, Ohio (WCMH) — Deputies in Clark County have arrested a man in his 80s accused of murdering an Uber driver while both were being targeted by a “scam call.” William Brock, 81, faces a felony charge of murder with additional counts possible, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators accused him of shooting Lo-Letha Hall multiple times on March 25 after she went to his house on an Uber assignment. Investigators first came to Brock’s property, about four miles west of South Charleston in Clark County, when he called them and said he shot someone attempting a...

Two senior Republican lawmakers, the chairs of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, say their colleagues are echoing Russian state propaganda against Ukraine. Researchers who study disinformation say Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, are merely acknowledging what has been clear for some time: Russian propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and European support for Ukraine has steadily seeped into America’s political conversation over the past decade, taking on a life of its own. McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Puck News he thinks “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately,...

Greg Howells' wife told SFGATE she believes the playwright staged his own death On a summer evening in 1997, a theater director headed out to hit a twilight round of golf in Carmel Valley, the wealthy oceanside town on California’s Central Coast. There was a gentle breeze rustling the oak trees and tall grass that evening, the sea air a mild 60 degrees. Greg Howells played 12 holes and was never seen again. His cart was found on the 13th tee, with no balls remaining in his bag and some clubs thrown down on the grass. A script of...

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...

On Friday, Ohio’s Secretary of State sent some very bad news to the Ohio Democratic Party: The deadline for certifying a presidential candidate to appear on Ohio’s ballot is August 7. However, the DNC convention isn’t being held until August 19. Until then, despite his current status as the Democrat frontrunner, Biden isn’t technically the Democrat party candidate. This is a huge egg-on-the-face moment for the DNC. While the situation can be remedied, that it happened reflects the anti-meritocracy that the left has become. Democrats have been holding nominating conventions since 1832. In the ensuing 192 years, late August/early September...

Cry me a Rio Grande river. The jailed Venezuelan “migrant influencer” who viciously mocked America to his 500,000 TikTok followers and urged border crossers to “invade abandoned houses” now misses the glorious liberties he enjoyed in the US – whining to The Post this week that “I miss my freedom!” Leonel Moreno moaned that he is a victim of unjust “persecution” Wednesday during a 30-minute-long video televisit from inside Geauga County Jail in Chardon, Ohio.

Oops! Looks like Robert Kennedy Jr. isn't the only Democrat presidential candidate having trouble getting on ballots for the 2024 general election. As incredible as it might sound, so is ... President Joe Biden.Ohio's Secretary of State's office sent a letter to the Ohio Democratic Party on Friday bearing the ill tidings: In the letter [to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters], obtained by ABC News, legal counsel for Secretary of State Frank LaRose sought clarification for "an apparent conflict in Ohio law" between the Democratic National Committee's nominating process and the deadline by which the party's presidential nominee must be...

Monday on “The Alan Colmes Show,” Alan spoke with former Congressman and Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich about what President Obama should do about ISIS, and had some harsh criticism for President Barack Obama and the Bush Administration regarding policy in Iraq. Rep. Kucinich, who is also a Fox News contributor, said the US should not be a policeman for the world and let Syria handle ISIS, and said that President Barack Obama was not as anti-war as he is portrayed. He also said President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should “absolutely” be in jail for their role...

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...

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Drinks, chairs, and fists all flying. Video from inside El Viejon Mexican Restaurant, located at 1045 S. Reynolds Rd., shows two groups of women erupting into an all-out brawl on National Margarita Day. “Sometimes people can’t handle more than two margaritas,” said Juan Castro, a server and spokesperson for the restaurant. It started with an exchange of words that escalated and eventually spilled into the lobby. You can see some people recording the fight on their phones, others heading for the door. Castro said the fight that happened on Feb. 22 left the establishment trashed. “It’s...

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) brushed off accusations that progressives are influencing President Biden’s border policy on Sunday, describing the president as “very independent” on the issue. The concerns were raised after Biden appeared to back off promises to use executive action to close the border, following mass criticism from progressives. The left wing of the Democratic Party has been critical of the president over his willingness to embrace hard-line immigration policy, which they argue is reminiscent of former President Trump.