An Ohio lawmaker wants to make it a felony to publish a police officer's home address, birth date or phone number online with intent to threaten or intimidate them. State Rep. Gayle Manning says the proposal grew out of a Lorain case in which an officer who was cleared of wrongdoing still watched personal information about the incident spread across social media nationwide.
The bill would prohibit publicly disclosing a peace officer's personal identifying information with intent to intimidate, threaten or cause physical harm, according to Cleveland 19 News. Under the measure, that protected information includes a home address, birth date or phone number, and violators would face a third-degree felony carrying a fine of up to $10,000, probation or prison time.
Manning says the Lorain Police Department approached her about an officer who faced nationwide online backlash after being cleared of wrongdoing. She said the officer had done nothing wrong, but information about the incident still went viral through social media, turning a cleared officer into the target of a pile-on.
A Bill Aimed at Doxxing, Not Reporting
Manning has described the measure as bipartisan and says it is meant to target malicious doxxing and harassment rather than routine reporting or free speech. She said it would not affect the news, framing the bill as a narrow tool against people who weaponize an officer's personal details rather than a restriction on journalism or public accountability.
Two retired peace officers now serving in the Ohio legislature have signed on to the bill, according to the same report. Manning said she believes Ohio's proposal has stronger momentum than a similar federal measure, which the station's account says federal lawmakers introduced in Congress in September 2026 to safeguard federal law enforcement officers but which remains stalled in committee.
Time Is Short in This Legislative Session
The Ohio legislative session is winding down, leaving limited time to pass the measure in 2026, per the Cleveland 19 report. Manning said she is committed to reintroducing the bill next legislative session if it does not clear the chamber before the clock runs out this year.
How Ohio's Effort Fits a Broader Pattern
Ohio's push arrives amid a wider wave of state-level action on doxxing public officials. The Council of State Governments reports that 54 bills protecting public officials from doxing have been enacted across 19 states since the early 2000s, according to The Council of State Governments. As of June 2025, the organization found that Alabama, California and Illinois had gone further by establishing doxing as a standalone crime with an explicit legal definition, while 14 other states had made it a standalone offense without naming or defining it directly in statute.
Seven states, including Alabama and Pennsylvania, limit their anti-doxing laws specifically to public-sector officials, the Council of State Governments notes. Alabama's HB 287, enacted in 2023, created a doxing crime covering the electronic publication, posting or provision of a person's personal identifying information, offering one template for how narrowly or broadly such laws can be written.
At the federal level, momentum has been slower. A roundup from Frontline Privacy found that some doxxing-related bills it tracked had died and a few had moved to floor consideration as of April 2026, with companion measures HR 5118 and S 1952 sitting in committee in both chambers with no floor schedule, according to Frontline Privacy.
Existing Ohio law already addresses a narrower slice of this issue. Under Section 2921.24 of the Ohio Revised Code, officers or employees of a law enforcement agency, court or court clerk's office are barred from disclosing the home address of a peace officer and certain other people tied to a pending criminal case, such as witnesses or arresting officers. Manning's proposal would extend protections further, targeting members of the public who post an officer's personal details online rather than just officials handling case records.
