Conflicting accounts on vigil removal

TIFFIN — A Seneca County Sheriff's deputy told organizers of an interfaith prayer vigil they were being asked to leave a public right-of-way because nearby businesses and the township objected to their presence. Sheriff Fred Stevens said the decision was made solely on public safety grounds. The vigil took place Saturday, May 23, on the public right-of-way outside Crosswaeh Community Based Correctional Facility at 3055 S. SR 100 as part of a statewide week of action organized by 4winds419 and the Ohio Immigrant Alliance targeting immigration detention in Ohio. Organizer Runa Guzman recorded a portion of the interaction on her phone as deputies approached the group. In the recording, a deputy told the group to move the bus they had arrived in before addressing the group directly. "They do not want you on the property," the deputy said. "The township doesn't want you on the right of way." The deputy suggested the group relocate to the Seneca County Courthouse, saying that was their only alternative unless they obtained permission from nearby property owners. "They don't want you there as well," the deputy said of the surrounding businesses. "They just don't want, you know, political, whatever out here, put their signs up, and look like they're one-sided, that they support one side or another." Safety was not mentioned during the portion of the interaction recorded by the vigil group. After the deputy walked away, organizers discussed what had happened among themselves. "They literally straight up said this is public right-of-way but they don't want you here," one organizer said. In a written response to The Advertiser-Tribune and in a Facebook post published Tuesday, Stevens said safety was the only reason deputies asked the group to leave. "The sole purpose behind my decision to have my deputies ask the protesters to leave was public safety," Stevens wrote in the Facebook post. "I was concerned about the protesters' safety, and I was concerned about motorists' safety." Stevens cited rainy conditions, a 55 mph speed limit, the absence of guardrails and sidewalks and the proximity of the group to the roadway. He noted that some participants used walkers or had difficulty walking. "Rain is one of the major causative factors for accidents as well as distractions, so combine both of those factors together with people who are a very short distance off of a state highway with no guard rails, and it is a potential accident waiting to happen," Stevens wrote. Stevens also said the right-of-way along State Route 100 is state owned, not township owned. That statement differs from his deputy's recorded statement that the township did not want the group there. Two Eden Township trustees said the township had no involvement in the removal, and the township zoning inspector said he had no communication with anyone that day. "We knew nothing of this," Trustee David Ziegler said. "We had no control over it. We had no say in it, no knowledge of it." Ziegler said he received text messages from the other two trustees Saturday asking what he knew about the incident and told them he knew nothing. Trustee Kenny Bish said he was not contacted about the incident and had no knowledge of it. "Township typically does not get involved with State Highway or County Road right-of-ways," Bish said. Zoning Inspector Carl Long said he had no communication with anyone on May 23. Long confirmed that a December 2025 email he sent about Melmore Street setbacks, which organizers had shared publicly as documentation of right-of-way status, was sent in response to a general zoning question from a private individual with no specific property mentioned. He also said the setback measurements he described apply to buildings, signs and structures erected in the right-of-way, not to people gathering there. Trustee Vern Morter did not respond before publication. Stevens acknowledged in his written response that his office had prior knowledge of the planned vigil and directed deputies in advance on how to handle it. "My office had prior knowledge of a protest that may take place that Saturday, by two separate groups," Stevens wrote. "I directed the on duty deputies that if protesters showed up to let them know that they were to assess the situation for safety reasons and to see where they were parked and how they got to where they were protesting." That account is consistent with information provided by Jason Varney, vice president of correctional programs in north central and southeast Ohio for Oriana House, which operates Crosswaeh Community Based Correctional Facility at 3055 S. State Route 100. Varney said the sheriff's office contacted Crosswaeh on Friday, May 22, the day before the vigil, to ask about the facility's ground rules for the planned demonstration. Crosswaeh did not contact the sheriff's office on Saturday, he said, and facility staff were unaware anyone had gathered outside until they noticed deputies on the scene. "We did not contact the sheriff's office," Varney said. "In fact, our staff didn't even know that anyone was on the property until they noticed the sheriff's deputies were here." Varney said Crosswaeh communicated consistent parameters throughout the week, including in writing on Friday morning. "There were several conversations that took place," Varney said. "They (the protestors) were given parameters. No one is permitted to park in our parking lot and no one is permitted to protest on our grounds. As far as public spaces and public right-of-ways, obviously we have no jurisdiction over that." "They are free to protest on public space," Varney said. "They cannot protest on Crosswaeh grounds and they cannot park." Stevens confirmed in his written response that the group's bus was parked in a private lot without permission, which he cited as an additional reason deputies asked the group to leave. The Seneca County Sheriff's Office police log for the incident, classified as a non-criminal service call, notes that deputies made the group aware they needed permission to be on private properties before entering and advised them they could continue their protest on the courthouse sidewalk. The log does not reference safety concerns. Guzman said the deputy acknowledged the group was on a public right-of-way but told them the surrounding businesses did not want the demonstration in front of their properties. "While the deputies said they personally did not have a problem with the vigil, they told us the businesses did and that we had to leave," Guzman said. "They said if we wanted to continue, we would need to take it to the courthouse." Guzman said she stopped the deputy as the group was leaving to ask why they were being removed from a public right-of-way. "He repeated that law enforcement did not personally object to the vigil, but said the correctional facility, surrounding businesses, and township did," Guzman said. "He told us the best course of action would be to schedule a township meeting and go before the council to request permission to hold a vigil on the strip of grass." Guzman raised concerns about First Amendment protections in connection with the removal. "Restricting peaceful assembly on a public right of way raises serious concerns about First Amendment protections and local complicity in harmful immigration enforcement systems," Guzman said. "Actions like this send the message that community voices are less important than protecting institutions from political discomfort." In a press release issued Tuesday, 4winds419 said organizers observed a transport van bringing detained individuals into the Seneca County Jail during the vigil. The sheriff's office declined to confirm or deny whether any detainee transfers took place during the hours of the vigil, saying that information would reveal security protocols. The organization also said it plans to contact Advocates for Basic Legal Equality to explore possible legal action related to the removal of demonstrators from the public right-of-way and potential First Amendment violations. ABLE is a nonprofit law firm based in northwest Ohio that provides legal representation in non-criminal matters for low-income residents. Stevens responded to Guzman's characterization of the removal as complicity in a written response to The Advertiser-Tribune. "If she means she is against safety of pedestrians or civilians, then I cannot answer for that and if she is against private property rights and parking their bus on private property without permission, then I cannot answer that either," Stevens wrote. Stevens wrote in his Facebook post that some members of the group called deputies Nazis, "which I find pathetic since they were there to do a prayer vigil." He added: "The deputies were looking out for their safety and had there been an accident the deputies would have been the first ones to provide life saving assistance to those same people calling them horrible names." Stevens confirmed the Seneca County Jail housed 32 ICE detainees as of May 23 and said the facility has no official ICE detention capacity. The jail is a 213-bed facility housing both local inmates and ICE detainees, according to Stevens. The Seneca County Jail has operated as an ICE detention facility for more than 25 years, as previously reported by the Advertiser-Tribune. Earlier this year Stevens expanded that partnership by signing two additional agreements under ICE's 287(g) program, authorizing trained road deputies to arrest individuals with immigration detainers and jail staff to serve ICE administrative warrants. Stevens addressed questions about First Amendment concerns by referring back to his safety justification. "Those that know me, know that I am all about the First Amendment, Second Amendment and We the People," Stevens wrote in his Facebook post. "We can agree to disagree on the issue of illegal immigration and protesting it but I will not waiver on the issue of safety while I am the Sheriff and I have the authority to do something about it." The Advertiser-Tribune has submitted a public records request for the incident report, officer narrative, body camera footage and all other documents related to the case. That request is pending.