July 21 (UPI) — Federal authorities arrested Ohio State Republican House Speaker Larry Householder Tuesday morning and former State GOP chairman Matt Borges in connection with a $60 million bribery case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to give details on the arrests, which also included Householder adviser Jeff Longstreth along with lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The suspects were all expected to appear in video arraignments in U.S. District Court in Columbus later Tuesday.
FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said agents carried out “law enforcement activity” at Householder’s farm in Glenford, Ohio, assisted by the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.
Householder is in his second term as the Ohio House speaker. He first served in the position from 2001 to 2004 but left because of term limits. He returned to the Ohio House in 2017 after he was elected as Perry County auditor.
He rose again to House speaker again last year after then-Speaker Cliff Rosenberger resigned after falling under an FBI investigation into Rosenberger’s dealings and travel with payday loan lobbyists.
