Ohioans took to the streets
Shame on the Dispatch for echoing a false narrative in Thursday’s front page headline, “Columbus’ ICE Out! Rally remains peaceful,” on June 12. Reinforcing the administration’s false claims helps to justify using military force against peaceful protestors and puts us all in danger.
There have been hundreds of rallies and protests around Ohio in the past six months that have all been peaceful. Why redundantly claim this one was peaceful too? That was not news.
The story is that Ohioans took to the streets to stand against the actions of masked ICE agents grabbing folks off our streets without due process.
More: Columbus ICE Out! demonstration brings anti-Trump protesters Downtown
The truth is the great majority of protests in California have been peaceful and the problem areas are the size of a few blocks, which was controllable by their local police. Washington escalated tensions by overreacting with military, especially Marines!
This administration is showing the desire to control us with a heavy military presence. Headlines such as this give them backing to do just that. The president stated any protestors will be met with strong force, contrary to our most basic rights of free speech and freedom of assembly in the Constitution. Please focus on facts and not echoing propaganda.
Karen Adams, Delaware
Protesters march against the Trump administration immigration policy and ICE deportations through streets of downtown Columbus after gathering at City Hall on June 10, 2025.
Take care of the children
Can we all agree that kids are our future?
So far, the Ohio House, Senate and governor are not showing enough concern for Ohio’s public school kids.
Three state budgets have been proposed by the House, Senate and governor.
Each underfunds public schools by more than $2.7 billion compared to the Fair School Funding Plan. (Remember, the Fair School Funding Plan — the bipartisan plan that finally provided a fair and equitable solution after the prior plan was declared unconstitutional four times by the Ohio Supreme Court!)
These bad budget bills are moving toward reconciliation into one consolidated state budget by end of June.
Columbus City Schools serves 46,000 students; more than 50% are economically disadvantaged. Under the proposed plans, Columbus City Schools are penalized worse than any other school district in Ohio. In fact, they’ll receive less funding than in the prior biennial budget.
Why can’t Ohio’s elected leaders provide adequate funding for Ohio’s public school kids? Looks like they’d rather give big tax breaks to billionaires and fund a football stadium.
It’s time to care more about kids than billionaires. Forget the billionaires, let’s fully fund public schools in the Ohio budget.
Cheryl Roller, VP of Advocacy & Education, League of Women Voters Metropolitan Columbus
Kids must be fed
Wake Elon Musk from his supposed ketamine sleep and ask him how many times in his entitled life he went to bed with an empty stomach. Ask Ohio senators, did they ever go to school hungry?
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency destruction has already unfunded food banks in Ohio. Call your senators and demand that the SNAP program be maintained.
If we want to compete with the rest of the world, we have to assure that all American kids are fed, even if it costs the privileged a few pennies of tax.
William Cotton, Blacklick
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Protests in Columbus Ohio support victims of Trump, ICE | Letters