Activists barred from Sen. Portman's speech

Some reservations to Wednesday's Lincoln Day Dinner were canceled "at the behest" of Sen. Rob Portman's staff, Seneca County Republican Party Treasurer David Koehl said. Eight people from the recently formed group Seneca County Rising made reservations for the dinner, where Portman was keynote speaker, but received a notice from PayPal Tuesday evening stating the reservations were canceled, Karin Brown, one of the people whose reservation was canceled, said. The reason given was that the event was private, she said. Seneca County Rising's mission is to "determine what we can do on a local level to promote that same sense of unity, acceptance, inclusiveness, positive engagement, tolerance, empowerment, etc. that was in full evidence and abundance (at the Women's March on Washington)," the group's Facebook page states. Brown and the others wanted to talk to Portman and ask him about his positions; they have had difficulty getting in contact with him or his staff in recent weeks. Brown said she wanted to talk to Portman about President Donald Trump's immigration policies and the trends she sees the U.S. taking, from the perspective of a German immigrant. "I'm really afraid," she said. "I came from a country where this happened. I came from Germany. I know exactly how these steps went. It's exactly how they're doing it here now. It scares me to no end." The people whose reservations were canceled planned to demonstrate outside Terra State Community College's Ronald L. Neeley Conference and Hospitality Center, where the dinner was taking place, Brown said. "We were not going to make a ruckus, but I guess we're doing that now," Brown said. "Portman only wants to talk to Republicans. He wants nothing to do with Democrats." Although the Seneca County Republican Party canceled the reservations at the request of Portman's staff, Koehl said he disagrees with the move. "I believe these people should be allowed to attend," he said. "People should be allowed to talk to their elected officials." Koehl sent an email to Portman's staff expressing his disagreement with the decision. "While I understand your desire not to let any potential protestors in the room, I'm strongly inclined to believe the Bill of Rights is more important," Koehl's email stated. "We have freedom of speech and freedom of assembly to protect the rights of citizens to speak to their elected officials even if they disagree with those officials — especially if they disagree with those officials." Despite this disagreement, Koehl said he and other county Republicans respect Portman's decision. "We've decided to respect Sen. Portman and his decision," Koehl said before the dinner. "Sen. Portman has a number of policies I support. I don't know whether I'm going to bring it up tonight."