COLUMBUS – Authorities are conducting a criminal investigation after the outside of the Statehouse was defaced with red hand prints and the phrase “hands up, don’t shoot” in protest of police brutality.
Gov. Mike DeWine sas he is angry and disgusted by the “criminal” act at the Statehouse.
I have spoken with Ohio State Highway Patrol Col. Richard Fambro about security at the Statehouse, and I shared with him my anger and disgust at the vandalism that occurred at the Ohio Statehouse yesterday. I support the right to peacefully protest. However, defacing, damaging, and vandalizing our state capitol and its grounds are wrong, and such actions are criminal. -Gov. Mike DeWine
State troopers began to wash off some of the red paint on the western side of the statehouse on Thursday afternoon as a group of people protesting police brutality watched.
It’s the latest example of damage to the downtown Columbus icon since protests over the police killing of George Floyd began three weeks ago.