Schaeffer

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Sheriff James Zusack confirmed that Holloway Mayor Joseph Schaeffer was arrested Thursday after he allegedly threatened to blow up the Belmont County Courthouse.

Belmont County Auditor Cindi Henry said Schaeffer called the auditor’s office at the Belmont County Courthouse on Thursday morning about a property tax issue and, during that conversation, allegedly said he was going to bring a bomb to the courthouse.

Zusack said deputies arrested Schaeffer later Thursday and said he takes any type of threat seriously, but especially in the case of a threat to the courthouse.

“We took immediate action and got a hold of the prosecutor’s office, and they expedited everything for us to be able to make the arrest,” Zusack said. “As far as making threats, in Belmont County we’re not going to tolerate it. That’s why it was done so fast.”

Schaeffer was charged with inducing panic and aggravated menacing, both misdemeanors with bonds of $1,000 each, resulting in his total bond amount being $2,000. The booking department of the jail reported that Schaeffer posted bond and was released around 7:22 p.m. Thursday.

Contacted by phone after his release, Schaeffer insisted that he did not make any threats toward any individuals or the courthouse.

“I had a witness sitting there with, my daughter was with me and my mother … because it was about my mother’s property,” Schaeffer said. “And, we have an issue where in 2023 for 2022 tax season, … my mom was charged $2,000 for a lot that she previously was paying $13 on. Well my mom had a meeting in September, and it was all taken care of or they gave her the impression it was all taken care of, and they readjusted all of our taxes and everything, and don’t want to give her her money back.

“And that is an out and out lie that I called over there saying I was threatened … It did not happen that way at all,” Schaeffer continued. “Yeah, I was loud, yeah I was aggressive, but I didn’t threaten (anyone).”

Schaeffer said when deputies arrived at his home, he greeted them thinking they were there to see him in his role as mayor of Holloway. Instead, he said, they asked him to put his hands behind his back.

“They would not tell me what I was being charged with. They would not tell me what I was being arrested for. They did not read me my Miranda rights. They took me clear in to the jail, had me get dressed up in their jail garb, put me back in a cell and then released me. My Miranda rights were never read to me at all. … So technically, I wasn’t even legally arrested.”

Schaeffer said he did post bond through a bail bondsman prior to his release.

“Was he running his mouth and being an idiot?” Zusack said. “Yes, but you don’t make threats to cause any type of harm to anything. That’s where he got himself in a tizzy.”

Henry, during an interview by phone, said Holloway called her office Thursday morning, upset about an increase in property taxes reflected in bills issued this month. She said during that conversation, Schaeffer threatened to bring a bomb and “blow up the courthouse.” She said he also told the staff member he was speaking with that he would “bring his 101 cousins” and set things right.

Henry said she immediately reported the alleged threats to the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department. She said she also filed for a restraining order against Schaeffer.

Following her report, Henry said there was a “very intense police presence” at the courthouse for some time around noon.

Henry added that her hands are tied when it comes to increases in property tax bills — the new property value assessments were mandated by the state of Ohio, part of a six-year cycle of reassessments. She also said her staff members should not be subjected to angry calls and threats for following directives from the state.

Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan acknowledged that his office moved quickly to determine potential charges in the case after the alleged threats were reported.

“We were presented with a fact pattern that caused us great concern relative to things said to a deputy auditor in Belmont County,” Flanagan said by phone Thursday evening. “They went over and above any type of acceptable comment. We were presented with a report from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office and approved charges for inducing panic and aggravated menacing.”

Flanagan said both charges are misdemeanors of the first degree. He said his office must examine the facts of any case and apply existing law to those facts and, in this case, determined that those would be the appropriate charges.

Schaeffer was elected in the November 2023 general election and took office Jan. 1, 2024, according to the Belmont County Board of Elections’ website.

Managing Editor Jennifer Compston-Strough contributed to this report.