Police: Statehouse vandalized following late-night break-in

COLUMBUS — A man could face charges after he broke into the Ohio Statehouse early Monday while under the influence of drugs and discharged a fire extinguisher inside, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Staff Lt. Craig Cvetan said the man, whom he did not identify, called 911 after breaking into the Statehouse, later telling police he was “attempting to get medical assistance for a reaction related to his use of illegal narcotics.” He then left the building, and was found by police on the building’s west lawn.

The man broke three windows — one while entering, another while leaving and a third while he was inside the building, according to Cvetan. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remained Monday morning. Troopers are investigating, and charges against the man are possible.

Workers were seen cleaning up the chemical powder on Monday morning inside the building’s historic Rotunda. The massive, 19th-century painting inside that commemorates the victory of U.S. forces during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812 was not visibly damaged, although a spokesman for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board said the agency was investigating to confirm there was no major damage.

The vandalism incident is the first to occur at the Statehouse since a series of protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement last summer. There were two incidents — one on May 29 in which multiple people briefly broke into the building and damaged it during unrest and another on June 18 when protesters painted red handprints and slogans on the marble building’s exterior and nearby statues — that caused $158,000 in damage.

The Statehouse generally is open to the public, and heightened security associated with last summer’s Black Lives Matters protests, and another series of what turned out to be peaceful demonstrations following Congress’ certifying President Joe Biden as the winner of the November election, has been dialed back.