Leader Isaacsohn's Statement on Reports of Recent Raids of Ohio Organizing Collaborative's Cleveland Offices & Homes of Voting Rights Advocates

COLUMBUS - Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) today released the following statement regarding this morning's reported raids of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative's Cleveland office, questioning of staff and community members, and seizure of laptops and other devices:

"Today, Ohio is reckoning with the Trump Administration's aggressive targeting of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC). In a statewide intimidation effort, more than 100 federal agents raided the OOC's Cleveland office where they sought to question people in their homes and communities in cities across the state.

Bringing people into the voting process is noble and patriotic work that the Ohio Organizing Collaborative has done for years. Our elections are the most free and most fair when every Ohio citizen can participate.

A federal government that threatens and intimidates civil rights organizations is a government that is willing to trample on anyone's rights. We have seen this before, both in our country's darkest periods and with anti-democratic regimes throughout the world. It is un-American to use the government's weight to silence its citizens' voices.

We deserve a federal government that is not wielded to attack political enemies, but is transparent, accountable, and focused on addressing the rising costs of gas, groceries, and utility bills."