A police report out of Grove City, Ohio has revealed that a Democratic congressional candidate was arrested at a “No Kings” protest after law enforcement officials felt it was unsafe to give him a ticket in front of the rowdy crowd and he refused to move. Don Leonard, who is currently campaigning to represent Ohio’s 15th District in the House of Representatives, was using a bullhorn to deliver a speech on March 28 when a police officer with the Grove City Police Department snatched the bullhorn and informed him he was violating a noise ordinance.
The officer then told Leonard to walk with him to his cruiser to be interviewed and receive a ticket for the violation, but he refused to comply. He was then arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. A second man was taken into custody after he blocked the cruiser Leonard was placed inside of. That man was also charged with obstructing official business and disorderly conduct.
After the incident, Leonard spoke with local media outlets, saying he was willing to accept the citation for the noise violation, but wanted the crowd to see him being detained due to a growing fear of how the situation was escalating. Two sergeants with the Grove City Police Department initially responded to a call about a group of juveniles making a ruckus during the protest on the afternoon of March 28 near City Hall.
According to Yahoo News, the sergeants could not locate the original caller when they arrived at the scene of the protest. The report does not make any further mention of the juveniles. The sergeants then approached Leonard and took his bullhorn, asking him if he knew about the Grove City noise ordinance when he put together the event.
Leonard responded by informing the officers that he was not the individual who organized the protest. True to form, leftists in the crowd displayed aggression toward the officers, swearing at them as they continued speaking with the Democratic congressional candidate. Leonard continued speaking to the crowd as one of the sergeants moved a police cruiser that was blocking the road, making a snarky comment that the noise ordinance violation was “the most important thing happening in Grove City right now.”
The crowd continued to grow around Leonard, prompting the sergeant to think it was not safe or appropriate to “take enforcement action in front of the crowd of protesters that had appeared to become more agitated as Leonard became more agitated,” the police report detailed. He then gestured for Leonard to follow him to his cruiser.
Leonard was given multiple orders to follow the sergeant, which he defied. The sergeants informed Leonard that they were giving him a lawful order to move away from the crowd, but still he refused to budge. Grove City then dispatched additional officers to the protest to assist with “crowd control.” Leonard then made several comments to the crowd suggesting the police sergeants were overreacting to the situation.
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Several of the protesters were seen filming the officers and shouting at them when Leonard was taken into custody, according to the report. Both Leonard and the other individual charged with blocking a cruiser are set to appear in the Grove City Mayor’s Court for their initial appearances on April 15. Leonard said he plans to fight the charges.
Featured Image: Don Leonard booking photo