Ohio Democratic attorney general candidate says if elected he'd 'kill' Trump with capital punishment

Ohio Democratic attorney general candidate Elliot Forhan is facing backlash for saying in a campaign video that he would, "kill Donald Trump" by successfully prosecuting him for crimes and winning a capital punishment sentence.

In a video posted on his campaign's Instagram account Tuesday, Forhan said after introducing himself, "I want to tell you what I mean when I say that I am going to kill Donald Trump. I mean I'm going to obtain a conviction, rendered by a jury of his peers, at a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, based on evidence, presented at a trial, conducted in accordance with the requirements of due process, resulting in a sentence, duly executed, of capital punishment.

“That is what I mean when I say that I am going to kill Donald Trump.”

Social media account Libs of TikTok shared Forhan's video on X, tagging Secret Service and the FBI, and included the candidate's post following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk last year.

"F-ck Charlie Kirk," Forhan's post reads.

There were no reports as of Wednesday afternoon that law enforcement is investigating the statement as a death threat or any other possible crime. 

"No public servant should say that about any human being, much less somebody who was just assassinated," Ohio GOP Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News. "He just proved himself to be a petulant and undisciplined child, ill-suited to public office."

Ohio GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) also told Fox News that Forhan’s posts are "probably demented publicity designed to get attention" and "score cheap political points."

LaRose added that "this kind of rhetoric" is becoming more "mainstream" in the current Democratic Party.

"Violence is wrong," Forhan said after his post Tuesday and the resulting backlash.

"That was my very first statement when I learned that Charlie Kirk was murdered," he said. "My thoughts and prayers were and still are with his family and loved ones. Glorifying Kirk and his movement of bigotry and violence is also wrong, yet many public figures and even NFL teams are engaging in it. People are being fired from their jobs and terrorized by the Trump administration for repeating Charlie Kirk’s own words.

"The Vice President himself is targeting Americans from the host chair of Kirk’s podcast. I expressed anger over the whitewashing of Kirk’s legacy of bigotry and hate. That is my First Amendment right."

Forhan also said that Yost should resign from office and LaRose should drop out of the race for state auditor for "glorifying the racism and bigotry" of Kirk.