Reporter at News 5 Cleveland
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.
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. "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.
“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.
Fourteen people were interviewed, including all of House Democratic Leadership, several staffers and individuals who alleged"aggressive" behavior by Forhan.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.
"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. 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.
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.
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