Columbus, OH – Over the weekend, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski deleted his unconstitutional Facebook posts about tracking and recording addresses of people with yard signs supporting Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris. His deletion followed a letter sent by the ACLU of Ohio on September 17, demanding that he take down the messages, and then, after multiple days without any response, a threat published by ACLU of Ohio threat to “see you in court.” This threatened lawsuit, augmenting a massive expression of outrage by Portage County residents, a packed NAACP meeting Thursday night, and national media coverage, resulted in Sheriff Zuchowski taking down his unconstitutional messages.
Statement from ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson:
“The threat of litigation by the ACLU of Ohio, amidst the outrage of Portage County residents amplified by voices across the country, apparently convinced Sheriff Zuchowski, a governmental official, that the U.S Constitution forbids his suppression of political speech. We are gratified that the sheriff has made the decision to delete his threatening messages, and we urge him to continue to abide by the Constitution and respect the First Amendment rights of the residents he was sworn to protect. We have vigilantly fought to protect free speech for over one hundred years, and we are not about to stop now. The ACLU of Ohio will continue to monitor the sheriff’s actions.”
