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Ohio Secretary of State Urges Kent State to Drop Jane Fonda as Speaker for Event

Ohio Secretary of State Urges Kent State to Drop Jane Fonda as Speaker for Event

“What’s not ok is providing aid and comfort to the enemy and willfully serving as a propaganda tool for those engaged in hostilities against the United States.”

Kent State is set to pay Jane Fonda over $80,000 to speak at the 50th commemoration of the Kent State shooting. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose feels Fonda is an inappropriate choice due to her controversial activism during the Vietnam War.

WKYC News reports:

Ohio Secretary of State urges Kent State University to cancel Jane Fonda event

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has taken to social media to urge Kent State University to rescind its invitation to actress Jane Fonda to speak at the upcoming 50th Commemoration of the May 4, 1970 shooting.

In a Facebook post written on Sunday, LaRose wrote: “The 50th anniversary of one of Ohio’s darkest days has the potential to serve as a moment of unity, understanding & healing in a nation that is deeply divided. However, Kent State’s decision to pay Jane Fonda $83,000 to speak at their commemoration event does the very opposite.”

Fonda, a two-time Academy Award winner, will speak about her life in social activism and reflect on the history and legacy of the events of May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio national guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.

“I served 10 years in the US Army, and eight years in the Ohio Senate before becoming Secretary of State. I certainly understand that people disagree on policy issues, especially matters of war — and that’s ok. What’s not ok is providing aid and comfort to the enemy and willfully serving as a propaganda tool for those engaged in hostilities against the United States. And Ms. Fonda did that – the very definition of treason,” LaRose wrote.

LaRose is referencing Fonda’s controversial trip to North Vietnam in 1972 when she was photographed on top of an anti-aircraft gun. More recently, Fonda expressed regret over the photo during a news conference to discuss her HBO documentary in 2018, The Associated Press reported.

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Comments

Paying Hanoi Jane $80K to give a talk is terribly offensive to those of us who had relatives or friends killed or imprisoned by the Viet Cong. Jane was over there talking about how nice the VC were while our friends and relatives were hanging in monkey cages. The torture increased after Jane’s visit, because she basically told them they could get away with it.

Jane should have been tried for treason, but the politics of the time and her famous name let her off. I’m not a fan of the “cancel culture,” but what she did was unforgivable.

buckeyeminuteman | February 20, 2020 at 11:31 am

No students were killed. The four who were killed were flower child-travelling protesters, there to cause mayhem. I’m not saying it was right. As a member of the Ohio National Guard, it was our darkest day. I would never want to find myself in a position to have to fire on an angry mob in self defense. They were tough times. Hanoi Jane only made things worse. Shame on her.