Ross Gallabrese QUESTIONS — Speakers at Tuesday's protest rally in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse included, from left, Karen Lloyd, Kathy Antinone and Missie Vasielum Basich.

STEUBENVILLE — Democrats from across the region gathered in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse Tuesday to question the judgment and motivation behind Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted accepting more than $116,000 from a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein.

At issue is the $116,892 Husted received from New Albany billionaire Les Wexner, who has come under scrutiny for his relationship with Epstein.

“We’re making voters aware that Husted has been accepting money from an Epstein co-conspirator for years,” said Eddie Abdalla, chairman of the Jefferson County Democratic Party. “If you tie together his vote to not release the Epstein files and the fact that he received a maximum donation from Wexner, it makes you wonder what people are hiding.”

Questions about the money have become a major part of the campaign being run against Husted by Democrat Sherrod Brown, who is looking to return to the Senate after his 18-year run ended by Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024. The Husted-Brown race has become one of the most closely watched Senate battles in the country. Wexner donations and contributions from Epstein associates have been the subject of intensifying statewide media campaigns run by both sides.

Three local women spoke during Tuesday’s rally, which was organized by the Ohio Democratic Party. Karen Lloyd, Kathy Antinone and Missie Vasileum Basich each said Ohioans deserve transparency concerning campaign contributions.

“Right now a profound shadow hangs over the office of Sen. Jon Husted,” Lloyd, a Steubenville resident, said. “It is a shadow cast by more than $116,000 in campaign contributions. This isn’t just standard political fundraising — this money came directly from billionaire Les Wexner, a man explicitly named in the federal investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.”

Husted, Democrats said, accepted a $3,500 donation from Wexner, the maximum allowed, in July. In September, Husted voted no when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to attach an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act that would have released the Epstein files. In November, Husted voted to release the files surrounding Epstein, who was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges but died in jail in 2019 before trial.

Epstein had pleaded guilty to Florida charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

“Look closely at the facts and the timeline, because the timing of these events is deeply troubling,” Lloyd said. “Campaign finance records reveal a disturbing pattern. Husted accepted maximum allowable donations from the Epstein associate. Just weeks after securing that financial backing, a critical procedural decision was made to block the public release of the Epstein files.

“Eventually, amid intense public pressure, a vote was taken to release these records, but the initial hesitation and decision to stall happened right alongside a massive influx of cash from the very network under investigation,” she added.

A Husted campaign spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon that Brown also should be answering questions about donations.

“The Wexners have given to dozens of candidates from both sides of the aisle — including Sherrod Brown,” said Amy Natoce. “Unlike Brown, our campaign donated all available funds to an anti-human trafficking charity, and Jon Husted voted to release the Epstein files. Brown’s ads are hypocritical and raise more important questions: Why does Brown still refuse to donate the funds he received from Epstein’s associates? Why did Brown sit on the Epstein files during his 32 years in Washington? He owes Ohioans answers.”

Husted’s campaign reported in February that it had donated $34,300 in combined contributions from Les Wexner and his wife, Abigail, to Columbus-based Freedom a la Cart Cafe, a nonprofit that provides training and services for survivors of sex trafficking. That total included the $3,500 donation from July.

In a press release issued last week, the Husted campaign said “Brown has taken more than $100,000 from at least a dozen Epstein associates, including former Harvard President Larry Summers, entertainment executive Casey Wasserman and attorney Brad Karp. Brown refuses to give those donations to charity, instead using them to fund his desperate comeback campaign.”

“We cannot change the system that protects the powerful and the rich, but we can replace people like Husted,” Antinone, a Steubenville resident, said during Tuesday’s protest rally.

“Even if he claims he has given back some of the money, it is too late,” she added. “He already voted no on opening the Epstein files.”

Lloyd, a retired teacher, said it’s time for Ohio residents to get answers.

“When you spend nearly four decades in the classroom, you develop a fierce, unyielding instinct to protect the innocent,” she said. “You learn to spot evasion, you learn when someone is hiding the truth. Right now, my instincts as a mother, a grandmother and a teacher are screaming that something is deeply wrong in one of the highest levels of our state government.”

Basich agreed.

“Ohio, we deserve better — we can clean up this cycle,” the Adena resident said. “I challenge everyone to be good people, even better people every day. Men, speak out against pedophiles and their terrible crimes and the people who support them. Women, speak up for equality and a better life.”

Among those attending the rally was longtime Democrat Eileen Krupinski, who represented the region in the state House of Representatives, a seat her husband, the late Jerry Krupinski, also held.

“We’re here to support Sherrod Brown against Jon Husted,” she said. “Sherrod has done a lot for our area, and he has helped me personally with a problem I had. He’s a great person. He listens and we need to get him back in the Senate.”

Charges have never been filed against Summers, Wasserman or Karp, but their names were mentioned in the Epstein files. Les Wexner has never been charged criminally, but he was named as a co-conspirator in the FBI’s investigation into Epstein.

Tuesday’s protest was the fifth similar event held around the state. Previous rallies were in Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown and Westlake.