Ashli Ford arrested

MILAN — Ashli Ford was arrested late Friday about two hours after she was interrupted by sheriff's deputies during a live broadcast at Facebook. Deputies serve warrants and handcuff Ashli Ford, late Friday, Screenshot "She refused to answer the door so a search warrant was obtained. When the deputies announced they were going to enter the home with a search warrant, that's when she surrendered," Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said. Ford, 38, of East Mason Road in Milan, was on Facebook Live making new allegations against public officials when deputies knocked at her door earlier on Friday. Read more: Facebook live interrupted Ford, who faces trial later this month in Norwalk Municipal Court on a falsification charge, views herself as a journalist, a podcaster, a genius and a person who has a knack for solving crimes and seeing corruption. In July, Ford met with then Norwalk police Chief Dave Smith for a 2½-hour interview during which she accused numerous public officials and others of wrongdoing. The falsification charge stems from statements she made during that interview. In the last year, Ford has accused more than four dozen people, public officials and private individuals, of wrongdoing. She saves screenshots and text messages she claims are evidence of criminal wrongdoing. During a recorded interview last year with former Norwalk police Chief Dave Smith, the chief attempted to explain to Ford that the court's standard of evidence was a higher standard than hers. More recently, she has made false and disparaging statements about a newspaper editor and a local common pleas judge whose court issued a protection order against Ford for a woman who was allegedly being harassed by Ford at Facebook. She's accused a local mayor, a law director, a safety service director, city council, an attorney representing the family of murder victim Amanda Dean, Dean family members, a police chief and numerous police officers and deputies of wrongdoing. Ashli Ford Erie County Jail The people Ford targets contend she makes false allegations and is defaming them. Ford refused to answer her door on Friday when the deputies knocked, saying if they didn't have a warrant she didn't have to respond because she's done nothing wrong, according to a video posted at her page. Ford is charged with two counts of extortion, according to court records. The arrests were authorized by the Erie County Municipal Court. Ford was booked into the theErie County Jail, where she will remain until at least today (Monday) when she is arraigned. After she surrendered, Ford's husband, Ezekiel Ford Sr., and daughter, Laila Bartow, berated deputies, demanding that they leave the property as they were leaving, according to another video posted at Facebook. Ezekiel Ford complained that not as many cops were gathered last month to arrest the man who allegedly murdered a woman. The dead woman's family has complained that Ashli Ford has been harassing them since early last year, claiming she has text messages from one family member that are improper. ORC 2905.11 Extortion No person, with purpose to obtain any valuable thing or valuable benefit or to induce another to do an unlawful act, shall do any of the following: (1) Threaten to commit any felony; (2) Threaten to commit any offense of violence; (3) Violate section 2903.21 or 2903.22 of the Revised Code; (4) Utter or threaten any calumny against any person Calumny means the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation, slander. Extortion in Ohio under ORC 2905.11 is a third-degree felony, typically punishable by up to three years in prison on each count and up to a $10,000 fine per violation. Get off my property Numerous complaints have been made to Facebook and Patreon, another social media platform Ford uses, about the content she posts. Ezekiel Ford Sr. Ashli Ford did not respond Thursday when asked in a Facebook message if she was concerned that so many people were alleging she was defaming them with false information. She has complained at Facebook and to the sheriff when people post negative things about her. In one post at Ford's page late Friday, Ford's husband can be heard forcefully telling a deputy to leave. "Get off the property. I'm on my property," he demanded. "Get in your car and get off this property, like right now."