Friday is U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman's last day as the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Ohio.
Glassman's career has included investigations of Columbus Police’s now-shuttered Vice Unit, the Dayton mass shooting, the car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University, multiple cases of U.S. residents supporting ISIS, and the murders of the Rhoden family in Pike County.
As he exits, Glassman says there isn't just one top priority for the office. He names domestic and international terrorism, hate crimes, the opioid epidemic and violent crime as major concerns.
"Frankly, I could go on and on about the kinds of threats we are facing," he says. "I think it's a varied and emerging threat landscape for all of us."
One challenge, though, remains consistent.
"The internet is making some threats greater than they have been in the past and sometimes making it harder for us to stop them," Glassman says.
Glassman will remain in the office for a few days to ease the transition of his successor David Devillers, a Columbus-based veteran assistant U.S. attorney. Despite the fact that the men were appointed to the post by presidents of rival parties, Glassman has complete faith in Devillers's ability to execute the office.
"Politics plays no role whatsoever, cannot, does not, and as far as I'm concerned will never play any role in the enforcement of the laws, whether they're civil or criminal," Glassman says.
