A Columbus-area man has admitted to sending 92 threatening letters and other messages to around 30 Republican elected officials, including Gov. Mike DeWine. Fifty of the messages contained white powder that Ronald Lidderdale at times identified as a deadly toxin, according to court records.
Lidderdale, of New Albany, pleaded guilty to 31 federal charges on Monday, including mailing threatening communications, transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce, false information and hoaxes and cyberstalking.
In a bill of information, a type of charging document, Lidderdale admitted that from roughly July 2024 through May 2025 he threatened DeWine, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, State Treasurer Robert Sprague, Attorney General Dave Yost and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joseph Deters. Some of the threats referenced officials’ spouses.
One letter to Yost’s office contained a bullet with Yost’s name etched in it, according to court records.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said in a statement that threats of political violence are “antithetical to our system of government and will not be tolerated.”
“Public officials must be permitted to carry out their duties free from threats that cause concern for their personal safety and the safety of their loved ones,” Gerace said.
Court records say Lidderdale also threatened a slew of state legislators: Sens. Andrew Brenner, Jerry Cirino, Sandra O’Brien, the late Sen. Kirk Schuring, House Speaker Matt Huffman, Reps. Rodney Creech, Bill Dean, Jennifer Gross, Beth Lear, Melanie Miller, Phil Plummer, Jason Stephens, Josh Williams and Bernard Willis.
Staff at the Ohio Republican Party got threats, as did Republican governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Ohio Chamber of Commerce President Steve Stivers, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson, Mike Carey and Jim Jordan and former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Prosecutors said Lidderdale mailed letters containing white powder to seven different locations threatening to kill DeWine. In total, he sent nearly 50 letters with white powder that he sometimes described as ricin, a deadly toxin.
Officials said law enforcement seized two pistols, ammunition, a lock-picking kit and tactical gear from Lidderdale’s residence.
They say Lidderdale used ChatGPT to research his crimes, including how much time he might face in prison.
Prosecutors said each of the 17 counts of mailing threatening communications that Lidderdale admitted to carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, while the other charges each carry a penalty of up to five years in prison. He hasn’t yet been sentenced and was sent to prison following Tuesday’s court hearing, court records show.
Signal Statewide left a message for Stacey MacDonald, a federal public defender listed in court records as Lidderdale’s lawyer, seeking comment for this story.
