After a night of demonstrations related to the Minnesota death of George Floyd, Ohio legislators condemned the police actions that led to the man’s death, and called for racism to be declared a public health crisis.
Thursday night street protests occurred in downtown Columbus calling for nationwide action, as police used tear gas and riot gear to force crowds to disperse. Multiple windows in the Ohio Statehouse were broken, along with some other buildings around Capitol Square.
As Ohio’s General Assembly continued work on Friday, the Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) called on the state to declare racism a public health crisis.
“Black America woke this morning to a nightmare that seems to never end and a continued feeling of hopelessness that nothing will ever be better,” said state Rep. Stephanie Howse, D-Cleveland, president of the OLBC, in a statement. “Black Ohioans deserve to be heard today, tomorrow and always.” READ MORE
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Police say suspect threatened to kill father of ranking house Dem unless she resigned
Democratic House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes received a call from an unknown man on May 23 calling from her father’s phone number, threatening to kill him if she didn’t “step aside” politically, according to a police report released Friday.
The suspect claimed he had her father, Democratic state Senator Vernon Sykes, captive. He told her not to contact the police.
He repeatedly told her to step aside, telling her to resign or else he would kill her father.
Emilia Sykes hung up the phone and called the number belonging to her father. Her father then answered the phone. READ MORE
