A person gathering signatures to put the nuclear power bailout law on next year's ballot called police to report an assault in Dublin. The alleged instigator is accused of working for the opposing group trying to keep the nuclear bailout law, created through HB6, in place.
Harold Chung told Dublin police on a 9-1-1 call that someone grabbed his phone, threw it to the ground, then shoved him.
"I'm doing one type of petitioning and it looks like she's a hired blocker to prevent me from collecting signatures," Chung told a dispatcher.
The altercation was reported Monday afternoon near the intersection of High Street and North Street. Chung said the woman had been following him for a while so he tried to take a picture of her, that's when the alleged assault happened.
Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts is the group trying to collect enough signatures to put a referendum of HB6 on the 2020 ballot. The group's spokesperson, Gene Pierce, says their referendum workers have been met with hostility all around the state.
"It's intimidation and it should be a concern to the people who want to have free and open elections," says Pierce.
The woman accused of assault was wearing a lanyard connecting her with Generation Now, a group that has paid for ads supporting the nuclear bailout and and a pro-FirstEnergy Solutions message. A spokesperson for Generation Now says they didn't know anything about the altercation but that their petitioner monitors are instructed to be polite and courteous.
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