Trump supporting write-in candidate declares herself governor of Ohio after discussing plot to kidnap Mike DeWine

A woman who ran as a write-in candidate against Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has unlawfully declared herself governor of the state and been implicated in a plot to kidnap and prosecute Mr DeWine.  

Renea Turner, who ran against Mr DeWine as a write-in candidate in 2018, posted a video to her Facebook on Thursday in which she places her hand on a Bible and proclaims herself the governor of Ohio.  

"Ohio is free from Tyrannous leadership," she wrote in a Facebook post following the stunt.  

The day after she posted the video, Ms Turner met with an individual who claims she pitched them a plot to place Gov. DeWine under house arrest.  

The Ohio Capital Journal was the first to report on the plot. 

According to the individual - who asked local media not to identify them over fears of retribution - Ms Turner told them that they would kidnap Mr DeWine, try him for several alleged crimes, and then sentence him to exile or execution.  

According to the whistleblower, the plot against Mr DeWine was a response to the governor's coronavirus mandates.  

In a Facebook post, Ms Turner revealed that her mother recently died in the hospital. Healthcare workers attributed the death to complications from the coronavirus. However, Ms Turner is critical of coronavirus mandates and repeats conspiracy theories that the governor is using the coronavirus to strip Ohioans of their rights.  

"The hospital did kill my mom and Mike DeWine gave hospitals Immunity witch[sic] in my mom's case a license to kill.  My mom suffered for several week's and then she died scared and alone," she wrote.  

The "immunity" Mr DeWine provided hospitals was immunity from lawsuits related to coronavirus that he signed into law. Schools and businesses are also protected under the law.  

The whistleblower that spoke with Ms Turner about the plot decided to alert the police.  

“If I don’t do something about this and something happens, I’m either legally culpable or at least I’m going to feel bad,” they said. “Not that I have any love lost between me and Gov. Mike DeWine. Again, I think he needs to be in prison. But again, if [the caller] had done something … I would have felt ethically responsible, right?”

Republican State Rep. John Becker - who led a push for the impeachment of fellow Republican Mr DeWine - said he had met with Ms Turner previously, and that she had asked him if he knew where the governor lived.  

He said that Ms Turner was trying to find a county sheriff to help her arrest Mr DeWine.  

Ms Turner spoke to Cleveland.com and confirmed that she did have a phone conversation about placing Mr DeWine under house arrest, but said she never had any specific discussions beyond that. She called the whistleblower a "dingbat."  

Ohio State Troopers visited Ms Turner at her home Friday morning. She said the troopers were "just there to check out my temperament and what my plans are."  

Ms Turner has not been placed under arrest.  

When asked about the plot, Mr DeWine said he was not aware that there was one.  

“I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to denounce that and say that’s wrong, whether it’s coming from the left, whether it’s coming from the right, that is wrong," Mr DeWine said.

Mr DeWine's former health director, Dr Amy Acton, resigned from her position as the state's top doctor responding to the coronavirus after she and her family endured weeks of harassment from far-right critics of state mandates that shut down businesses and required mask wearing.