After several years of rejecting the Ohio Coalition To End Qualified Immunity’s (OCTEQI) petition summary, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Nov. 25 finally officially accepted their summary of its proposed constitutional amendment seeking to end qualified immunity for peace officers and possibly other government officials in Ohio.

The OCTEQI believes, as other activists do, that the only way to curb police brutality is to change policy. Qualified immunity shields law enforcement and other state actors from personal liability (civil suits).

A November 8 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court prompted Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to re-evaluate the summary and its title, “Protecting Ohioans Constitutional Rights.” His office had rejected the proposed constitutional amendment nearly ten times before, but the OCTEQI time and time again was unrelenting in its effort to gather the roughly 1,000 signatures for the AG to approve the next step.

As the Trump administration prepares to confront China's growing influence, it is critical to base strategies on accurate assessments of domestic capabilities. Misleading narratives, such as those propagated by conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, risk undermining government efficiency by spreading falsehoods about federal telework practices.

On Saturday afternoon November 23 a spirited group of local Black church congregations and other activists marched through the Short North after last week’s gross and sad display of hate. They wanted the community to know their response was not based out of anger or vindictiveness. Instead, it was based on compassion and love for each other and their community – and sadness towards those who hide their own personal misery behind hate symbols, masks and guns.

Rev. Victor Davis from Trinity Baptist Church who helped organize the “Jericho March” told the Free Press afterwards that he preaches social justice “every Sunday” and you can’t “preach the Gospel without that message”, and that there is a sense, at this time in American history, progress has been made. Nevertheless, in many ways the song of hate remains the same. Both him and his congregation were shocked and rattled by what they saw on the news and social media from the previous weekend.

On Saturday, November 16, a small group of neo-Nazis marched through the Short North, near downtown Columbus, Ohio. 

The group chanted vile expressions of racism and white supremacy, including the phrase “Bow down, [N-word]!” according to Rev. Derrick Holmes, senior pastor at Columbus’ Union Grove Baptist Church, speaking on behalf of members of his congregation who witnessed the vulgar display firsthand. The cowardly neo-Nazis spouted this hateful rhetoric while carrying black flags with red swastikas and spinelessly hiding distinguishing features behind black concealing outfits and red masks.