Republican leaders erupted after a Democratic candidate for Ohio attorney general was caught on video saying he would “kill” President Donald Trump.
GOP officials blasted the comment as reckless and unacceptable, warning that anyone making such remarks should not be trusted with Ohio’s highest law enforcement post.
The video clip, posted by Democratic candidate Elliot Forhan on Tuesday, shows him saying he would seek to have Trump convicted and executed if elected attorney general — language he later framed as a legal pursuit of capital punishment after a hypothetical trial.
As the Ohio Capital Journal reports:
Elliot Forhan is a former state representative who is set to appear on the Democratic primary ballot for Attorney General against John Kulewicz in May. Kulewicz is a longtime member of the Columbus-based law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.
Forhan started a firestorm on social media Tuesday after saying he planned to “kill Donald Trump.”
“I want to tell you what I mean when I say I am going to kill Donald Trump,” Forhan said in a video posted to his Facebook page. “I mean I’m going to obtain a conviction, rendered by a jury of his peers, at a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, based on evidence presented at a trial, conducted in accordance with the requirements of due process, resulting in a sentence, duly executed, of capital punishment.”
Kulewicz condemned the remarks from his primary rival, calling them “disgraceful” and arguing that the attorney general’s role is a solemn duty, not something to be treated as political theater. He said the state’s top law enforcement officer must respect the law and the judicial process.
Forhan, however, stood by his comments when questioned Wednesday. He told the Capital Journal that if Trump were to attempt to “end American democracy,” he, as Ohio’s attorney general, would pursue accountability to the fullest extent of the law.
Beyond any legal implications, Republicans argue his remarks and past rhetoric will be a central issue in the general election, where the GOP hopes to retain or expand its hold on statewide offices in a critical year for Ohio politics.
The controversy comes as Forhan, a Yale-educated attorney, seeks to build support ahead of the May Democratic primary.
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At least he didn’t threaten to kill DJT’s kids like the dude in Virginia did and look at how ‘well’ that worked out for him so far. Probably not so much for the Citizens of the Commonwealth though.
arrest this POS, if a citizen made that statement the FBI would arrest them
ABSOLUTE TRUTH!!!
Yale educated! That explains a lot!
Throw him in jail? Nah. Flush him down the toilet and, by that means, put him with the other turds of his kind.
BACKLASH WAS WELL DESERVED. IT IS DEMOCRATS LIKE HIM THAT ENCOURAGE HATRED and YES ATTACKS AGAINST CONSERVATIVES and A SITTING PRESIDENT. LIKE MAXINE WATERS CALLING FOR “RIOTING IN THE STREETS,” THEY ARE PUTTING THE CITIZENS IN GRAVE DANGER AS SHOWN IN MINN! SOROS”S PAID RIOTING MOBS IS BEYOND DESPICABLE. BUT PRAISED BY THE DEMOCRATS! NOW SCHUMER IS ONCE AGAIN GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN, WHICH LIKE THE LAST ONE CAUSED GREAT FEAR and SERVICES THEY DEPEND UPON, HE IS AT IT AGAIN. and TO HELL WITH THE SIFFERING OF OUR CITZENS! BEHAVING ;IKE SPILED 5 YEARS OLDS WHEN THEY DON’T GET THEIR WAY!
HE NEEDS TO BE ARRESTED FOR CALLING FOR THE “MURDER” OF PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!! REPUGNANT and A CALL FOR MURDERING SOMEONE A CRIME!!!!
A threat to the President should get you arrested and fined $500000 cash and 10 years prison time