Ohio Republican Senators were mailed feces from Cleveland

On Jul 7, 2022

An anonymous sender mailed envelopes of feces to all Ohio Republican senators. So far, the envelopes have been intercepted by various post offices across the state.

All 25 Republican members of the Ohio Senate were mailed envelopes full of feces on Thursday morning launching a federal investigation.

The packages arrived after being sent almost a week earlier from a Cleveland post office.

But according to a statement from Senate spokesman John Fortney, the packages were intercepted by Statehouse, Cleveland and Akron post offices before reaching the senators. Fortney wasn’t able to say whether similar envelopes had been sent to Ohio House Republicans as well.

The incident is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspector as a federal crime. Fortney wrote in a statement the Ohio Highway Patrol has also been notified.

Sen. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, was one of the intended recipients.

“It’s gross and stupid, immaturity at its highest level,” Hottinger said.

So far, there doesn’t seem to be a clear motive as to why the envelopes were sent. But both Ohio senators and representatives were warned to be cautious when opening mail at home.

On a personal level as a Statehouse employee, Fortney said he felt the act was cowardly and not only impacted state senators but also state employees.

“These are the same scared, pathetic, little cowards,” Fortney said. “They should’ve just sent a selfie, because it’s the same thing. I’d be more than happy to explain it to them in a parking lot or cornfield of their choice.”