U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown and other local and statewide elected officials called for answers during a press conference Wednesday regarding why the FBI raided a voter registration group in Northeast Ohio last week.
Brown (D-Warrensville Heights) and other officials alleged the June 11 raid of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative's offices in Cleveland amounts to an attempt at suppression of Black voters in Ohio. She said she and four other Democratic U.S. representatives from Ohio have sent a letter to the FBI questioning the reasoning for the raid and whether the FBI had the legal authority to investigate potential voter fraud.
"It's not just this raid, which is troubling enough," Brown said at Wednesday's press conference in Cleveland. "It's the fact that hundreds of agents were reportedly engaged in this effort across the state. I said hundreds. And they didn't just go to one office. They fanned out across Cleveland, trying to contact anyone who had even volunteered with this organization."
Brown alleged that FBI agents visited homes, followed individuals in their cars and even tried to enter homes.
"Five days later, there is still so much we don't know, including how much of this was covered by a warrant," she said.
The FBI reportedly confiscated laptops and electronic devices from staff members last Thursday at the Ohio Organizing Collaborative's Cleveland office. The OOC is a nonpartisan group that organizes voters for progressive causes. The OOC and a related organization, the Ohio Organizing Campaign, together
Research suggests despite allegations of rampant fraud made by President Donald Trump and his supporters in recent years. Brown noted a concentrated effort by statewide officials in 2024 to investigate voter fraud turned up very few instances.
"And do you know, in a state with over 8 million registered voters, how many voter fraud indictments were filed by the state in 2024? Six, not 6,000, not 600 鈥� one, two, three, four, five, six. So this does not add up. The math doesn't math. And massive undertakings like what we saw last week sure send a chilling message to groups and individuals making our democracy more inclusive," Brown said.
Officials, including Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, reiterated the safety and security of Ohio's voting system during the press conference, and called on residents to register to vote and check their registration status.
"Any attempt to discourage residents from exercising their rights is wrong, and we firmly stand against it. And let me be clear once again: Cuyahoga County's election system is secure," Ronayne said.
Ohio Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) said the Ohio Organizing Collaborative registered 160,000 Ohioans to vote in 2024.
"While the OOC may have been the front line target of the raids, what the FBI raid has really done is create confusion about the voting process in Ohio," he said.
The FBI's Cleveland field office declined to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon.
