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STEUBENVILLE -- Free Ohio Now has decided to move forward with a rally today protesting the COVID-19 mandates that shut much of the state down.
Local businesswoman Leslie Icuss said Friday the group wants to ensure that future decisions will be made legislatively, not by the governor or public health director.
"This group is about keeping our freedom and not being able to be dictated to," Icuss said. "Going forward, we don't want executive actions and government orders, we want the freedom to make our own decisions based on real information and not biased numbers."
The rally is planned for 1 p.m. at Eastern Gateway Community College's Steubenville campus, although college officials made it clear they did not sanction the gathering.
A statement, also released Friday, indicated the college had "proactively reached out to organizers to educate them on the college's event approval process" after learning it had been listed as the venue for the rally, and recommended the group "find a public place since the organizers had not followed the established practice."
Community organizations interested in renting event space are required to complete an application.
"After several conversations, the organizers informed Eastern Gateway Community College that they would not move the event and would not comply with the established process," the release stated. "However, they (said they) would note in their promotional materials that the college was not affiliated with the event."
"To be clear, the Jefferson County Open Ohio Now rally is not authorized, sponsored or affiliated in any way with Eastern Gateway Community College. Attendees of the event will be on college property at their own risk and the college will not be liable for any injury or incidents."
Prior to announcing their plans, Icuss said she'd been in contact with an EGCC employee working from home who told her, "It's a public space. I can't tell you yes, I can't tell you no."
"They didn't want it there, they don't want it but we did have permission," Icuss said. "I guarantee you we had permission. I called EGCC, the sheriff's department, the police department ... I notified all of them we would be having a protest."
Icuss said "more than one person" should be deciding if and when rights are abridged.
"It's still about freedom," she said. "For instance, if they come out with a vaccine, we shouldn't have to take it. I'm not saying I'm against vaccine, but it should be our choice. I don't want anyone to ever tell us we have to get a vaccine. I just think we're giving government too much control."