Prosecutor rejects Ohio lawmakers attempts to charge Gov. DeWine with terrorism
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Updated: 12:25 PM EDT May 13, 2021
WLWT Digital Staff
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Updated: 12:25 PM EDT May 13, 2021
WLWT Digital Staff
WLWT Digital Staff
A Clermont County prosecutor now wants a former lawmaker to pay court fees after rejecting his private citizen affidavit, attempting to charge the Ohio governor with 10 criminal counts.Ohio Rep. John Becker, the same Republican lawmaker who drafted articles of impeachment against Gov. Mike DeWine, filed a private citizen affidavit in September, attempting to charge the Ohio governor with 10 criminal counts.Becker said in a release that he filed the affidavit as a private citizen in an attempt to charge the governor with several criminal offenses for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Becker accused the governor of seven felony and three misdemeanor charges. Those alleged charges include: Engaging in corrupt activity, complicity, terrorism, making a terroristic threat, inducing panic, conspiracy, bribery, interfering with civil rights, coercion and patient abuse or neglect. The Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office spent five hours reviewing a former state lawmaker’s claim before rejecting it, according to a Court News report.Now, according to a court filing, the prosecutor at the time of the filing is requesting Becker reimburse court fees for the time and cost of defending the decision not to pursue charges against the governor.In the filing, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost agreed with the court, stating Becker should pay Prosecutor Faris' reasonable attorney fees or, alternatively, "order Becker to spend a day observing criminal trials in open court, so that he can better understand the gravity of the matters for which prosecutorial and judicial resources must be preserved." It comes after then-Clermont County prosecutor at the time, Vincent Faris, rejected Becker’s “private citizen affidavit” saying it had no basis. Becker then filed a writ of mandamus, calling for a "thorough examination of the allegations in the affidavit."The 12th District denied the writ in April and granted summary judgment to the prosecutor’s office.The current prosecutor, Mark Tekulve, denied Becker's writ and ordered a summary judgement to determine if the affidavit filed by Becker was "frivolous given the nature of Becker's claims and the arguments raised therein is granted."