State Rep. Elliot Forhan, D-South Euclid, speaks to the press. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Only repost photo with original story.)
The Democratic candidate for Ohio attorney general is facing backlash after comments about killing President Donald Trump by a final conviction and the “death penalty.”
Elliot Forhan is a former state representative who is expected to appear in the Democratic primary Prosecutor against Jan Kulewicz in May. Kulewicz is a longtime member of the Columbus-based law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.
On Tuesday, Forhan sparked a social media storm after announcing he planned to “kill Donald Trump.”
“I want to tell you what I mean when I say I will kill Donald Trump,” Forhan said in a video posted on his Facebook page. “What I mean is that I will obtain a guilty verdict, returned by a jury of his peers, under the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the evidence presented at a trial conducted in accordance with the requirements of a fair trial, resulting in a duly executed sentence of death.”
In a statement published on social media, Kulewicz condemned Forhan’s statements.
“Today’s comments from my potential main opponent are shameful,” Kulewicz said. “The AG is our state’s chief legal officer, which is a serious responsibility, not a political game. The AG must take the law and the judicial process seriously.”
When asked about them on Wednesday, Forhan did not withdraw his testimony.
“If Donald Trump again tries to end American democracy, as Ohio’s attorney general, I will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Forhan told the Capital Journal.
In Wednesday’s comments to Gongwer, Forhan referred to the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to interrupt the certification process of the 2020 presidential election. Forhan told the website that the president “did not face trial for this.”
Election interference allegations against Trump they were released at the request of federal prosecutors, because after Trump was elected president for a second time and the US Supreme Court ruled that presidents enjoy constitutional immunity from official acts.
Republican members of the Ohio Legislature, along with other Republican elected officials, rushed to social media to condemn the comments.
State Auditor Keith Faber, the Republican candidate for attorney general, urged Democratic candidates and leaders to “call out (Forhan) for this behavior.” He also called for “political calm” in a video statement sent to X.
“Tone down the rhetoric, let’s keep everyone safe,” Faber said. “Ultimately, if we continue to inflame tensions, someone will get hurt.”
Forhan did not respond to Faber’s comments about him, instead criticizing an opinion Faber wrote (and referenced in his video post) about ICE’s presence in Minnesota, where two people were killed by federal agents following protests.
“Mr. Faber is telling Ohioans that if elected, he will let Trump get away with murder,” Forhan said. “Ohio voters should take Mr. Faber at his word.”
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou sent a statement to X saying he was shown an “outrageous and extreme post” in which he referenced Forhan’s video, which he called “unsustainable rhetoric.”
Some social media comments about the Republicans’ comments called for Forhan’s arrest. He told the Capital Journal he believed he had the right to make such statements.
“I didn’t break the law,” Forhan said. “The core of First Amendment protections is political speech.”
The former representative said he was grateful for the support of Democrats in Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Asked for comment about Forhan and the social media posts, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde simply said there was “no place for political violence of any kind.”
Forhan was controversial as a state representative and after losing his re-election bid, which led to: he has already filed an ongoing defamation lawsuit against the current Ohio Attorney General, along with past and present legislators.
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