Man says he was shoved while collecting signatures to overturn Ohio nuclear bailout
COLUMBUS - "The woman is not affiliated with Ohioans for Energy Security, which is flooding Ohio homes with pro-House Bill 6 advertisements that warn residents not to give their personal information to the Chinese government, spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
That claim refers to a loan from a Chinese bank to an Ohio natural gas-fired plant owned in part by an opponent of the law. FirstEnergy Solutions' former parent company FirstEnergy Corp., who supported the law, also received loans from the same Chinese bank.
Ohio Citizen Action, the state's largest environmental organization, sent a cease and desist letter to Ohioans for Energy Security Wednesday regarding the ads, saying they could put signature gatherers at risk.
'The false words of your ad will injure the reputation of our volunteers and potentially place them in the crosshairs of xenophobic or antagonistic individuals who heard your ad,' Ohio Citizen Action's executive director wrote.
Ohioans for Energy Security declined to halt the ads, saying in a letter that it 'intends to continue to exercise its First Amendment rights.'"
- Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer