An Ohio man told authorities he was approached to participate in a plot to arrest GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, place him under house arrest and try him for "tyranny," Cleveland.com reports.
According to the man, whose identity was withheld to protect his safety, he was approached Oct. 16 by activist Renea Turner, who has been protesting DeWine's coronavirus orders and who ran a write-in campaign against him in 2018.
According to the man, Turner's plan included putting him on trial for several crimes then sentencing him either to exile or execution. Turner told Cleveland.com she did discuss putting DeWine, a Republican, under house arrest, but denied she discussed any specific plans, and said the plans were only for DeWine's protection.
"He's a dingbat," she said of her accuser.
Turner says DeWine should be removed from office and she should be made governor instead. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Turner declared herself governor Thursday after signing a sheet of paper posting the incident on Facebook.
She said she was questioned by members of the Ohio Highway Patrol. One of the trooper "said he was just there to check out my temperament and what my plans are," she said.
State Rep. John Becker, a Republican critic of DeWine who has sought his impeachment over his coronavirus response, seemed to confirm details of the story in a YouTube video, in which he said Turner had approached him earlier, asking whether DeWine's private home could be considered public property.
Turner called the person who called police a "hero."
The alleged incident happened not long after a similar plot to kidnap the Democratic governors of Michigan and Virginia. The Ohio plot is believed to be unrelated.
DeWine told reporters Friday he was not aware of any unofficial plot to arrest him, but added, "We have people in every state who believe that they can take the law into their own hands. We have people who believe the government's illegitimate and they have every right to go and basically overthrow the government in one form or the other. I think it's incumbent upon all of us to denounce that and say that's wrong.”