Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor in Ohio, released an explosive ad this week in which his opponent’s mother calls her “a liar.”
The opponent, Democratic candidate Amy Acton, has not been in contact with her mother, Donna Arthur, since 1978. That was when she and her brother were removed from the home of Arthur and her husband, Cledith Arthur, after he was indicted and charged with raping his 12-year-old stepdaughter.
Ramaswamy’s ad, which has resurrected public attention on a trauma Acton has discussed in the past, has been denounced by members of both parties, even as it has been promoted by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and a coterie of MAGA influencers.
Acton’s campaign previously had released copies of the court documents corroborating the incident, some of which have been published by The Washington Post.
Given the massive interest in the case and requests from the media, Mahoning County Clerk of Courts Michael P. Ciccone retrieved the official records from microfilm, subjected them to review by the Ohio county’s prosecuting attorney and released redacted versions Thursday.
“This office is committed to transparency, the preservation and integrity of court records, and compliance with the laws governing public access to records,” Ciccone wrote. “I recognize the importance of providing access to public records while safeguarding information that the law protects from disclosure.”
The newly released records are consistent with ones provided to The Post on Tuesday by Acton’s campaign. Among other things, they show that after Cledith Arthur was indicted, he “willfully vacated his last known address and has failed to include any forwarding address and his present whereabouts are unknown.”
Multiple warrants were issued for his arrest, but he was never brought into custody. His wife remained married to him until his 2004.
Recent polls have indicated Acton, the state’s former health commissioner, has a narrow lead in the race against Ramaswamy, a wealthy entrepreneur endorsed by Trump. Ohio has not elected a Democratic governor in two decades.
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