Ohio

Will neo-Nazis, other hate groups and extremists show up in Ohio ahead of 2024 election?

Published

2 months ago

September 10, 2024

Will neo-Nazis, other hate groups and extremists show up in Ohio ahead of 2024 election?

Ohio may no longer be the swing state it once was, but experts say it will still be the target of both in-state hate groups and outside agitators as the 2024 presidential election approaches.

Neo-Nazis already appeared about 48 miles west of Columbus to protest in Springfield in August. Given Columbus’ liberal politics in a right-leaning state, central Ohioans should expect to see demonstrations by hate groups locally this fall, said Jeff Tischauser, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

“Ohio is more or less red, but they still see it as a battleground state,” Tischauser said. “Columbus is a blue city surrounded by red, and it’s an election year.”

Read More: Neo-Nazi group that protested Columbus drag brunch claims to have started an Ohio chapter

The SPLC tracks hate and anti-government groups across the country. Ohio is home to at least 50 such organizations, which the SPLC defines as a group that has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people.

Investigations into violent extremism nationwide have been on the rise in recent years, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in September 2021. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of domestic terrorism cases the FBI handled grew by 357%, from 1,981 to 9,049, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

While the coming weeks will show just how active some of Ohio’s hate groups may be in the run-up to the election, there is at least one new local organization hoping to push back on hatred and fear this election cycle.

Ohioans Against Extremism was born in part out of the fact that hate groups and neo-Nazis started showing up more at events around the state, said Maria Bruno, the nonprofit’s executive director. Bruno, who previously worked for Equality Ohio, said she and others began to notice there was a need to connect people who may be dealing with extremism more frequently in their communities.

“I’ve seen what was once fringe internet trolling become things that people say on the House floor,” Bruno said. “We’ve seen this normalization of this rhetoric in the political atmosphere, but then simultaneously, we’re just dealing with more day-to-day safety threats that arise.”

Is Ohio still a top state for hate?

The nation’s heartland has long been a hotbed for hate groups, Tischauser told The Dispatch.

At the end of 2023, Ohio was home to 50 such groups with varying ideologies scattered across the state.

They include the Nazi Blood Tribe, which launched an Ohio chapter last year, as well as several white nationalist groups, five chapters of the Proud Boys, a few anti-LGBTQ+ groups, and 21 militias or antigovernment organizations.

Multiple factors may attract members of such groups to Columbus this fall, Tischauser said, including having the Ohio Statehouse as a backdrop. Following the 2020 election, statehouses across the country became the focus of protests as some voters questioned the results of the presidential race, Tischauser said.

Along with that, Columbus’ left-leaning leaders and residents offer members of extremist groups the chance to face their enemies, Tischauser said.

“Even though Ohio will probably vote red, Columbus is a blue city, there’s a huge university there and it allows them the opportunity to confront their perceived opponents during a huge crisis,” he said.

Another reason Ohio has become a home to hate groups is due in part to the state’s location, Tischauser said.

Ohio is centrally located, and Tischauser said that means members of hate groups in other states don’t have to drive too far to attend demonstrations in the Buckeye state. Groups such as Patriot Front and Nazi Blood Tribe are both able to get between 20 and 40 members to protests in Ohio, in part because it’s easy to get to and the election will be an additional motivating factor for them to gather, Tischauser said.

Members of the Nazi Blood Tribe protested outside a drag brunch at Land-Grant Brewing Co. in Columbus’ Franklinton neighborhood in the spring of 2023.

“It’s going to provide an opportunity for these types of groups to get attention,” Tischauser said.

What can Ohioans do to combat extremism?

While the nonprofit Bruno leads will continue to raise awareness about extremism as the election approaches, she said it will also try to turn down the temperature on the politics of the moment.

This presidential election cycle has already been upended multiple times, including after an assassination attempt on the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, earlier this summer in Butler County, Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden also dropped his reelection bid in late July, propelling Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket as the first woman of color to lead a major political party.

“We really want to kind of mobilize voters, and we want to incentivize politicians to keep the decency alive,” Bruno said.

Read More: What is a ‘boogaloo?’ Some protested at the Ohio Statehouse

Bruno hopes the nonprofit she’s leading will help to reconcile a “split between the will of the voters and the conversations we’re having on the ground and … within the Statehouse walls.” If successful, Bruno said such a movement could help voters and their elected leaders see more eye to eye and could also dissuade extremist groups from thinking they have a say in Ohio’s politics.

But Bruno said the organization’s work won’t be done after the election.

Part of its mission, she said, will be to help Ohioans navigate through the “mud fight” that could erupt again if some leaders question the security and results of the presidential election. The difficulty in that will be figuring out how to separate reality from fantasy in what Bruno described as a “really, really saturated political environment.”

“We want to help voters be able to separate what is a rumor from a fake story, or opinion from an actual thing that happened,” Bruno said. “I know that sounds scary and dystopian, but that’s also really just where our political information environment is at the moment.”

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

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Ohio

How can Ohio State football beat Indiana? 3 keys for top-five matchup against Hoosiers

Published

2 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

How can Ohio State football beat Indiana? 3 keys for top-five matchup against Hoosiers

Here are three keys for No. 2 Ohio State against No. 5 Indiana on Saturday:

Start fast

The Buckeyes have played in big games, having been in two top-five matchups over the past month and a half. The matchup is a much steeper ramp up in competition for the Hoosiers, who have not faced a ranked opponent and only one in the top half of the Big Ten standings this year. The gap in experience adds incentive for Ohio State to build an early lead and energize the crowd at the Horseshoe. It would put Indiana in an unfamiliar position, having to come from behind in a rabid environment. The Hoosiers had not even trailed in a game until this month.

Get pressure

Kurtis Rourke, the sixth-year starting quarterback who transferred to Indiana from Ohio, is one of the most efficient passers in the Football Bowl Subdivision, especially when he is well protected. Among quarterbacks with a minimum of 100 dropbacks, only three have a higher NFL passer rating from a clean pocket, according to Pro Football Focus. It’s why the Buckeyes must find ways to disrupt him. When Michigan gave the Hoosiers a scare earlier this month, it did so by sacking Rourke four times, including three during a second half in which the Wolverines held them to 18 total yards.

Account for Mikail Kamara

Between Marshall’s Mike Green and Penn State’s Abdul Carter, the Buckeyes have seen some of the best edge rushers in the sport. Kamara fits into that group as well. One of the James Madison transfers who followed Curt Cignetti to Indiana last offseason, Kamara leads the FBS with 53 total pressures, including nine sacks, per PFF. It’s the biggest test for the Buckeyes’ reshuffled offensive line since facing Carter earlier this month. While Carter had two sacks, twice getting around left tackle Donovan Jackson, the line held up and kept quarterback Will Howard from facing too much pressure. It will need to do so again.

Key matchup

Ohio State secondary vs. Indiana receivers

The defensive backs were a liability for the Buckeyes in their loss at Oregon last month as the Ducks’ receivers got behind them in coverage, and they have not fully quelled concerns in the following weeks. While the Hoosiers lack a burner like Tez Johnson, they have a deep collection of pass catchers. Five receivers have caught multiple touchdowns, led by Elijah Sarratt’s six scores. Rourke and Sarratt execute a high volume of back-shoulder throws that could challenge cornerbacks Denzel Burke or Davison Igbinosun who will need to keep the James Madison transfer from pulling in his share of 50-50 balls on the perimeter. The receiving corps is as good as the Buckeyes will see outside of Oregon and one of the biggest factors in Indiana’s upset bid.

Key stat

13: Total points allowed by Indiana in the first quarter over a span of 10 games.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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Ohio

Ohio Democrat Beats Trump's Pick, Extends House Record

Published

10 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Ohio Democrat Beats Trump's Pick, Extends House Record

Ohio Democratic US Rep. Marcy Kaptur won another term on Wednesday, defeating a Republican state lawmaker endorsed by President-elect Trump. Her victory in northwest Ohio over state Rep. Derek Merrin allows Kaptur to continue her streak as the longest-serving woman in House history, the AP reports. The final results were certified by the Lucas County Board of Elections in Toledo; the AP called the race Wednesday after previously saying the race was too early to call, though Kaptur declaring victory around 2am the morning after Election Day. Final results were slightly outside the 0.5% margin that would have triggered an automatic recount, with libertarian candidate Tom Pruss scoring about 4% of the vote.

Kaptur, 78, was viewed as among the year’s most vulnerable congressional incumbents, placing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District in the middle of a campaign battle where spending topped $23 million, according to figures compiled by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan tracker of campaign finance data. Her campaign said in a statement that Kaptur had overcome millions spent by special interests to distort her record. Kaptur thanked her constituents for trusting her to return to Washington in what will be her 22nd term. She pledged to continue to work to increase jobs, strengthen the manufacturing sector and “ensure dignity and stability for everyone who works hard and plays by the rules.”

Merrin had been endorsed by Trump, and his defeat marks Trump’s first loss in a state that went for the president-elect three times. During the House campaign, Merrin, 38, and his Republican allies targeted Kaptur on immigration and the economy. Democrats targeted Merrin on his support for abortion restrictions, including his work on a bill that would have made certain abortions felonies.

(More Ohio stories.)

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Ohio

Highest-ranking GOP state Senators from NW Ohio

Published

17 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Highest-ranking GOP state Senators from NW Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVG) – The three highest-ranking state Senate Republicans for the 136th General Assembly all call northwest Ohio home.

The Ohio Senate Majority Caucus selected Sen. Rob McColley, of Napoleon, to serve as the next Ohio’s Senate President on Wednesday. McColley, who has served in the state senate since 2017, said it was an honor to be chosen.

“I would like to thank my colleagues for the incredible confidence and trust they have placed in me,” McColley said in a statement. “I would also like to thank my loving wife and family for supporting me in my journey to get to this point.”

Sen. Bill Reineke, of Tiffin, will serve as Senate President Pro Tempore. He’s entering his second term in the state Senate, having worked on the Senate’s Finance Committee and Workforce and Higher Education Committee.

Sen. Theresa Gavarone, of Bowling Green, will serve as Senate Majority Floor Leader. She has served as Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee and GOP leadership said she played a crucial role in creating the current operating budget.

Another leadership position, Majority Whip, will be held by Sen. George Lang (R-West Chester).

House Republicans are expected to appoint its leadership team Wednesday night.

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