Justin Merriman/Getty Images
- Police say they are investigating an alleged plot to arrest Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for tyranny, local news station WSYX reported.
- The plot reportedly came to the attention of law enforcement when a man contacted them to say someone had called him in an attempt to recruit him to the plan.
- On Thursday, a group gathered in front of the Ohio statehouse as a woman swore an oath of office and declared herself governor, according to local WSYX reporter Geoff Redick, who said he confirmed it was the same woman involved in the alleged kidnapping plot.
- The plot resembled a report earlier this month that the FBI had foiled a right-wing militia’s plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Police say they are investigating an alleged plot to arrest Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for tyranny, local news station WSYX reported.
The plot came to law enforcement’s attention when a man contacted them to say someone had tried to recruit him to the plan. The man who reported the plot said he had previously tried to have DeWine removed from office by filing charges of tyranny against him, but that he was not interested in operating outside the law.
His attempts to bring charges against the Republican governor were dismissed by the state. According to WSYX, he said when he received a phone call from a woman about kidnapping the governor for tyranny, he declined and told her he would be contacting the Piqua Police Department.
“At this point in my life I’m not shocked by anything,” DeWine told WSYX reporter Geoff Redick. “People in every state believe they can take the law into their own hands, that they have every right to basically go and overthrow the government.”
DeWine added: “It’s incumbent on all of us to denounce that, no matter where it’s coming from.”
On October 22, a group gathered in front of the Ohio statehouse as a woman swore an oath of office and declared herself governor, according to Redick. He said he confirmed it was the same woman involved in the alleged kidnapping plot. The woman also reportedly said DeWine was now on "house arrest."
—Geoff Redick (@GeoffWSYX6) October 23, 2020
As the woman is not currently facing criminal charges, she has remained unidentified in reports on the plot.
The plot comes weeks after the FBI foiled a right-wing militia's plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government. Several people involved in that plot discussed murdering "tyrants" or "taking" a sitting government, according to an FBI affidavit.