Ohio Gov. DeWine signed House Bill 20, creating a 15-foot buffer around police and criminalizing close observation after an officer's warning

On July 7, 2026, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Substitute House Bill 20 into law, creating a new crime for approaching or remaining within 15 feet of an "emergency service responder" — including police officers — after being warned to move back, when the person also interferes with the responder's work or threatens physical harm. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail; conduct that risks harm rises to a fourth- or fifth-degree felony. The measure, sponsored by Reps. Thomas Hall and Phil Plummer, also increases penalties under Ohio's obstructing-official-business statute and adds probation officers to the responders it protects.

During committee testimony, Plummer, a former Montgomery County sheriff, named "First Amendment auditors" — people who film police — and said the buffer would apply at protests as well as at emergency scenes. The ACLU of Ohio and press-freedom advocates warned that because the warning triggering the buffer rests on an officer's discretion, the law can be used to limit the public's ability to record and observe police. Similar buffer laws in Arizona and Indiana have been struck down or enjoined by federal courts as unconstitutional restraints on recording officers. The law takes effect in October 2026.