COLUMBUS, Ohio — State Rep. Elliot Forhan deserved the legislative punishments he received after he was accused of "abusive behavior," according to an internal investigation done by the Ohio Attorney General's office.
"If unaddressed, Rep. Forhan’s escalating pattern of behavior would have posed a significant threat to the institutional integrity of the Ohio House and its reputation, and posed a credible risk of escalating to violence or violent conduct," the 16-page investigative report states.
This comes on the heels of a full day in court Friday in which Forhan fought against a protection order that was filed against him by fellow lawmaker Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland).
Context
In November, House leadership stripped Forhan (D-South Euclid) of nearly all his privileges due to allegations of “abusive” and “violent” behavior — and the "pattern of harassment, hostility, and intimidation of colleagues and staff."
The decision to remove his duties was detailed in a 19-page dossier sent to House Democratic Leadership by Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington), which was then obtained by News 5. In this report, it was decided that Forhan can no longer have an office, a legislative aide, badge access into state facilities or utilize any services that state representatives can access.
News 5 has been reporting on Forhan's situation from the beginning. Click here to read more in-depth about the allegations, how they started and the timeline of events.
The document asserts concerns about the lawmaker's behavior with his colleagues, constituents, nonprofits, unions and religious groups. Complaints from all parties reported aggressive behavior by the lawmaker, including threats, calling people excessively at all hours of the day and night and showing up to people's homes unannounced.
He has denied everything except going to people's homes.
Brent filed and received a protection order against Forhan after numerous incidents of harassment, she said, including several videos made about her and showing up at her home in June.
"I love you," Forhan can be heard saying to Brent in a now-deleted, yet saved by News 5, TikTok video.
Brent also filed a police report after Forhan allegedly came to her house after the restraining order was filed. Forhan denied this, saying he only went to Brent's home once in the summer.
"I was going there to pay my respects to a party leader and to ask her what I can do to make things right between us because it seemed to me like something was wrong," Forhan said in an exclusive interview with Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau in December.
Forhan didn't regret going to her or other members' homes since it's not a "cardinal sin" to door knock, he said.
Brent issued the following statement regarding the protection order that she says was requested "out of concern for my safety":
“The Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has taken the unfortunate, yet necessary, step of approving a Civil Protection Order that I filed Monday against Representative Elliot Forhan. Over the weekend, Rep. Forhan posted three separate, public social media videos directed at me. The representative’s tone, demeanor, and choice of words in each video left me feeling uncomfortable and concerned for my safety. Also during this time, the representative reached out to several local political leaders asking with urgency if they knew my whereabouts and how he could contact me. Behavior that, again, left me uncomfortable and concerned for my safety. Considering the representative’s invasive behavior, as well as past instances with the representative that left me unnerved, I felt that it was in the best interest of my safety to file a temporary restraining order. I urge Rep. Forhan to respect my family’s privacy. I will continue to pray he gets the help he needs during this difficult time.”
However, charges will not be filed against Forhan for allegedly stalking her after the police asked but did not receive evidence of the crime, the city of Cleveland said in Janunary.
RELATED: Stalking charges not being filed against Rep. Elliot Forhan due to lack of evidence
Investigation
Russo, with support from House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), requested Attorney General Dave Yost and his team to investigate the allegations on behalf of the House. They hired Perez & Morris, LLC as special counsel for the internal investigation.
The investigation was meant to answer if Russo's dossier was corroborated, if the punishments were warranted and if proper protocol was followed.
Fourteen people were interviewed, including all of House Democratic Leadership, several staffers and individuals who alleged "aggressive" behavior by Forhan.
Forhan refused to participate in the investigation, the report states.
The investigation detailed a multitude of incidents, including a heated debate with a constituent, pressuring local and state officials, verbally attacking numerous lobbyists and nonprofit workers, fighting House leadership and showing up to Brent's home.
"He banged on her front door and yelled through the glass to the cousin that he was Elliot Forhan and he worked with Rep. Brent," the investigation reported. "He did not park at Rep. Brent’s house, instead parking down the street and walking to her house, which prompted another neighbor to also reach out to Rep. Brent to ensure she was safe, because it was so unusual for a White male to be walking through the neighborhood and approaching Rep. Brent’s house after dark."
According to the document, Brent's cousin refused to let Forhan in, which upset him.
"Her cousin was scared by Rep. Forhan’s behavior, which she perceived as unusual, threatening, and aggressive, and made her fearful to leave the house," it states. "She did not answer the door, and Rep. Forhan stayed for several minutes, banging on the door, yelling through the glass, and pacing the length of the top stair outside of the door.
Upon finding out about this incident, Brent viewed this unannounced and uninvited visit as an "abusive use of publicly available information."
Brent immediately reported this to House leadership, and a meeting between leaders Brent and Forhan was held the following day. According to Russo, Forhan was defensive and did not understand the consequences of his actions.
Following this interaction, Forhan was removed from his committee leadership position.
Then came the issues with organizations Equality Ohio, Ohio AFL-CIO and Ohio Jewish Communities in the fall of 2023. Each group reported to the law firm that Forhan was "aggressive" and "erratic." He allegedly called an Ohio Jewish Communities lobbyist Howie Beigelman 19 times in a row, while yelling about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"Mr. Beigelman indicated he had no intention of working with Rep. Forhan again in the future, based on the level of disrespect he felt personally due to the cursing, yelling, and screaming, and the disrespect directed toward his community," the report says.
Following these problems, more arose with colleagues, leadership and staff of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
"Rep. Forhan was reported to be yelling at Senator Brown’s staff and quizzing staff on topics including the Geneva Convention and the Holocaust," it stated.
Forhan was subsequently banned from attending any future Brown events.
In November, Forhan allegedly screamed about the war at state Rep. Munira Abdullahi, who is Black and Muslim, alone in a committee room to the point that she was "visibly shaken," and the House Sergeant-At-Arms was called and dispatched to stand outside of where Forhan was — because they believed he would become violent. After leadership tried to calm Forhan down, he was eventually kicked out of the caucus for that day, according to the report.
However, Forhan defended himself in this situation when speaking with News 5 in November.
"I stood up for myself, and unfortunately, the leadership of my caucus seemed to disagree with me doing that," he said.
Multiple members of Democratic leadership "all perceived a credible risk that the interaction with Rep. Forhan could escalate to physical violence."
After the failed attempts by leadership to reign Forhan in, the stripping of privileges began. Part of this was Stephens requiring Forhan to contact the House Sergeant-at-Arms by phone regarding access to state facilities. Forhan was "wholly deficient," showed up whenever he wanted and "yelled" at his escorts.
"Following me around everywhere I go — following me when I go to the bathroom — it's very strange," Forhan explained to News 5 in December.
Based on the investigation, House leadership took appropriate and warranted actions in disciplining Forhan, according to the firm
"Rep. Forhan’s erratic behavior, threats of suicide and self-harm, and unacceptable interactions with staff, colleagues, and constituents was properly addressed by House leadership, including Speaker Stephens and Minority Leader Russo," it states.
Forhan gave the following statement to Trau:
"Morgan, first and foremost, even this illegitimate report did not find me to have been violent or to have engaged in violent conduct. But the harmful headlines persist! I did not participate in the report because I did not trust these investigators. I did not trust these investigators because (1) they were handpicked by the same people, the House and the AG, who denied me legal representation in the CSPO matter in violation of state law, (2) they refused to confirm that they follow workplace investigation industry best practices, (3) they admitted that they were not in fact independent, they were just attorneys in an attorney-client relationship with the Speaker, and (4) they exclusively give political contributions to Republicans. I could have maybe overlooked the last one if they had a good reputation or agreed to follow best practices. I am satisfied with my choice. The conclusions of the report were written before the “investigation” ever began. It’s part of a wider problem with House leadership. No accountability for their friends and abuse of power for people whom they don’t like.
A final point. The investigators reported that the witnesses think that I have poor emotional regulation. They may as well have quoted from literature on neurodivergence. Their failure to appreciate differences in people does not make me a violent or bad person. I take responsibility for my actual behavior but not the fiction that’s been built up and piled onto me."
Russo disagreed. In a letter to Forhan obtained by Trau, she argued the investigation confirmed she didn't try to "smear" him, as he claimed in several previous News 5 stories.
"The Report confirmed the truthfulness of the facts I outlined in an internal memorandum of last year that documented your behavior. Specifically, the Report states that '[e]ach of the instances of conduct raised in the Russo Memorandum was independently corroborated by witnesses,' and that 'the actions taken by House leadership were warranted and within the scope of authority.' In addition, the Report stated that '[t]he Minority leadership considered and took progressive measures' with the 'goal of coaching [you] on ways and methods to be more effective and successful in [your] role. 'The Report found that you 'did not correct [your] behavior,' despite the fact that it caused 'disruption to staff and Member’s ability to perform their own roles and was affecting the Democratic Caucus’ relationship with key stakeholders, in addition to being potentially damaging to [your] own district, career and aspirations for legislation.'"
On November 16, 2023, I notified you that based on your reported actions and failure to take accountability and change your behavior, you would be stripped of your committee assignments, and you would no longer have access to caucus staff services. I also instructed you to 'refrain from contacting staff, which includes interns, pages, legislative aides, and caucus staff.' After my review of this Report, I find no basis for removing any of those restrictions and will extend these restrictions into the foreseeable future."
News 5 reached out House majority leadership and is awaiting a response.
Court
On Friday, Forhan and Brent spent the day with their witnesses in a Cuyahoga County courtroom with Magistrate John Dyke presiding. Brent's legal team was asking to allow her restraining order against him to be continued.
"She's testified that she changed her routine, she asked her coworkers to accompany her to her vehicle, she accepted security when it was offered to her and she tried to stay away from the respondent," said Brent's attorney, Melissa Kelly, according to court transcripts obtained by News 5. "And changes in routine are absolutely understood in Ohio law to be evidence of mental distress."
Forhan, an attorney, represented himself during the trial. He never meant to scare her or anyone else, he said.
"I've been hurt by the reaction to my apologies. People might think that they're weird or awkward. People might think that I'm weird or awkward. It's hurtful, but — maybe I am a little odd, but I did not engage in any pattern of conduct to knowingly cause anyone to believe that I would cause them physical harm or mental distress," Forhan said in closing statements.
The representative told News 5 that he believes he is autistic, which is why he may struggle with social situations.
But Forhan also said that the protection order is based on nothing.
In Brent's police report, an officer documented that Brent accused Forhan of coming to her home on Nov. 20 and dropping off a letter for her. She claimed to have this on video surveillance.
Then on Nov. 21, Brent alleged that her personal security detail — not city law enforcement — saw a truck drive down her street. The vehicle slowed to a crawl near Brent's address and noticed the security, according to the document of the lawmaker's recollection. The driver "resembled" Forhan, according to the security detail. The truck left and did not return, according to the report.
News 5 had tried for months to get this information, and so did Cleveland police.
"Officers asked for but ultimately never received a copy of the referenced letter nor a copy of the referenced video," the city told News 5.
In discovery documents obtained by News 5, Brent's legal team could not provide evidence.
Originally, the team wrote, "Petitioner is in the process of downloading surveillance videos and will produce responsive video at a later date," but in the supplemental document, the answer changed to "After a diligent investigation, none."
"I’m keeping my options open," Forhan said about a possible lawsuit against Brent for what he calls a false report. "Litigation is not my goal. But I have to set the record straight and clear my name."
What is next
Magistrate Dyke will decide whether or not to continue the order. Until then, nothing changes at the Statehouse.
Forhan lost his reelection attempt, getting 12% of the vote versus his two competitors, who got 45 and 42%. Beachwood City Councilmember Eric Synenberg will be the next representative for House District 21.
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