Lawsuit: ‘Gang of Five’ Texts, Emails Threaten the Privacy of Hundreds of Citizens
Text messages and emails between hundreds of private citizens and Cincinnati City Council members known as the “Gang of Five” remain in the city’s possession and could be given to anyone – threatening the citizens’ right to privacy, a federal lawsuit says.The texts and emails were collected as part of a battle over whether the five council members – in group text messages – had private discussions about city business that should have happened publicly.In April 2018, a local resident represented by attorney Brian Shrive sued the five council members, all Democrats, saying they had violated Ohio’s open meetings law by holding “rogue” meetings in group text messages.