I’m Julie Niesen and I’m the lead defendant in MR, a Cincinnati Police Officer vs. Niesen, et. al, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  I'm also a local small business owner, longtime resident of Over-the-Rhine, and a freelance writer. 

You can read more about the case in this article , but here is a quick synopsis:

During hearings at City Hall related to the Black Lives Matter protests, a Cincinnati Police officer, who I may not name because of a temporary restraining order and a seal on his affidavit and his filing under a pseudonym, allegedly flashed an OK symbol at his belt buckle to Black protestors. It was caught on video, and several protestors testified in chambers that it happened. 

I wrote about it in a Facebook post, which got some traction. I used publicly available resources to discuss the officer’s history in the police forcce. 

Other defendants are being sued simply for filing CCA (Citizen’s Complaint Authority) complaints-- before they have even been heard by the CCA.

The firm representing the officer has threatened to sue the Enquirer for even writing the story-- a violation of freedom of the press. 

This is bullying and intimidation, plain and simple. As citizens we have the right to free speech, and this lawsuit is simply trying to keep us from exercising that right.  It is anti-democratic and anti-American.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. Litigation is expensive, and while I am lucky in that I have the time and energy to fight, I don’t have an unlimited legal budget. 

If you can’t donate (I know how tough times are right now) even just sharing is helpful. 

I’ll provide reports here both in how the case is going and how your donations are spent.  Any funds that go above and beyond legal fees will go to an appropriate group, such as the BlackPower Initiative  

Thank you for helping to fight for speech and democracy.