State Rep. John Becker
State Rep. John Becker
COLUMBUS – State Rep. John Becker (R-Clermont County) announced today that he has officially filed 12 articles of impeachment against Governor Mike DeWine.

He has been joined by his colleagues Reps. Candice Keller, Nino Vitale and Paul Zeltwanger in an effort to restore the rule of law.

While the General Assembly has attempted to work with the governor, he has vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 55. He has threatened to veto other reasonable legislation such as SB 1, SB 311, and House Bill (HB) 618.

The 12 articles of impeachment outline DeWine’s alleged abuse of power and alleged violations of the Ohio and United States Constitutions, as well as multiple sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

"DeWine’s mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, abuse of power and other crimes include, but are not limited to, meddling in the conduct of a presidential primary election, arbitrarily closing and placing curfews on certain businesses, while allowing other businesses to remain open," Becker said. "He weaponized the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to bully and harass businesses and the people; to enforce a statewide mask mandate and other controversial measures of dubious 'value,' making Ohio a hostile work environment.

"Additionally, DeWine had the further audacity to include congregants at places of worship, forcing citizens to choose between worshipping their God and worshipping at the altar of unbridled government. Many Ohioans find the controversial mask mandate offensive, degrading, humiliating and insulting. There is also evidence that masks can be a health hazard by retaining bacteria, viruses and creating panic attacks and other physiological difficulties.

“Rather than hearing the cries of Ohioans, Governor DeWine continues to stifle those cries by finding more inventive ways to use masks to muffle the voices of the people. He continues to have callous disregard for the fact that his isolation policies have led to a shockingly high number of suicides, alarming rates of drug abuse, persistently high unemployment, and the forced abandonment of the elderly by their loved ones,” Becker said.

The House Resolution containing articles of impeachment cannot be vetoed, and require a majority (50 votes) in the Ohio House of Representatives and then a two-thirds majority (22 votes) in the Ohio Senate for conviction and removal from office.

Polling has revealed widespread public support for impeachment. These occurred in late August:

• ABC6/Fox28 Columbus poll generated 18,420 responses resulting in greater than 83 percent favoring impeachment.

• WSPD Toledo poll generated 1,599 responses resulting in 94 percent favoring impeachment.

• Mahoning Matters poll generated 1,190 responses resulting in greater than 67 percent favoring impeachment.

"These polls are a clear indication of where the public stood on Governor DeWine when the articles of impeachment were first drafted. Predictably, his popularity has continued to plummet," Becker said.

Becker calls on the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Rep. Bob Cupp (R-Lima), to assign the articles of impeachment immediately to the Federalism Committee. As chairman of the Federalism Committee, Becker has a reputation for fair process and a no-nonsense approach. “I’m envisioning two hearings in early December followed by a floor vote to allow for a trial in the Senate,” said Becker. “The people of Ohio are looking forward to ending the madness and a governor gone wild,” Becker said.