Ohio Republicans filed articles of impeachment against Republican Gov. Mike DeWine over his coronavirus restrictions.
GOP state Rep. John Becker, joined by state Reps. Nino Vitale, Candice Keller and Paul Zeltwanger, filed 12 articles of impeachment against DeWine, calling it an “effort to restore the rule of law.”
The impeachment articles cite DeWine’s coronavirus executive orders, which they argued are unconstitutional.
DeWine’s other wrongdoings include “mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, abuse of power, and other crimes include, but are not limited to, meddling in the conduct of a presidential primary election, arbitrarily closing and placing curfews on certain businesses, while allowing other businesses to remain open,” according to Becker.
By implementing strict coronavirus restrictions, such as a stay-at-home order and mask mandate, DeWine violated Ohioans’ civil liberties, the Republican lawmakers said.
The mask mandate, specifically, “promotes fear, turns neighbors against neighbors, and contracts the economy by making people fearful to leave their homes,” they said.
The group of Ohio Republicans first announced their intention to impeach DeWine in August.
For DeWine to be removed from office, a majority of the state House would need to approve the resolution, and two-thirds of the Ohio Senate would need to vote to convict DeWine.
DeWine blasted the impeachment resolution during a coronavirus press briefing on Monday and said “at some point, the foolishness has got to stop.”
“I’d like for them to go in and talk to some nurses who are frontline nurses who are dealing with people who are dying,” DeWine said. “I’d like for them to go talk to family members, maybe a family that didn’t believe that this could happen. Now at Christmas, there will be one less person at the table.”
DeWine insisted that his only priority is “to keep people safe and to get our economy moving faster.”
“If there are others in the legislature who want to spend their time drawing up resolutions and filing articles … I’d just say to them, ‘Have at it,'” he said.
