Republican former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder was back in court this morning – virtually.
Householder appeared via video in a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas courtroom Friday morning. He was arraigned from the federal prison in Elkton in Columbiana County, where he’s serving his 20-year sentence for racketeering for masterminding the $61 million House Bill 6 nuclear power plant bailout scheme.
Householder, looking leaner than he did when he was taken to prison a year ago, didn’t speak. But he pleaded not guilty through his lawyer to 10 state charges of illegally using a million dollars in campaign contributions to pay for his legal team in that federal trial, and then lying on state ethics forms about it.
Householder’s team has several objections, and he’s also appealed his federal conviction. Attorney General Dave Yost has said a conviction on these state charges would keep Householder from ever seeking public office again in Ohio.
Householder's first hearing is scheduled for June 24. His case was randomly assigned to Judge Kevin Kelley, the former president of Cleveland City Council. In 2020, Kelley subpoenaed documents as part of an investigation council launched into dark money related to FirstEnergy.
