The two-star commander of the Ohio National Guard who made national headlines for pushing a journalist during an East Palestine news conference earlier this year has been given a leadership award for being “a role model for others.”
Major General John C. Harris Jr. received the Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award from the Baldrige Foundation on Wednesday for his role-model leadership “challenging, encouraging, and empowering others to achieve performance excellence.”
According to Al Faber, president and CEO of the Baldrige Foundation, Harris (pictured above) is “deeply committed” to being both a leader and a role model as the commander of the state National Guard.
This follows an outcry generated by a police body camera video showing Harris in an altercation with NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert during Ohio Governor Mike DeWine‘s public press conference regarding the derailing of a train transporting hazardous materials in East Palestine earlier this year.
Harris, who was in uniform at the time serving in his capacity as head of the State Guard, appeared to interrupt Lambert’s live news report. The video shows Harris grabbing the reporter, pushing him, and shoving his finger in Lambert’s face.
An Ohio State Trooper pushed the general away from Lambert. Along with receiving charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, officers grabbed and tackled Lambert to the ground as he left the building.
Lambert was quickly released from custody, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost dropped the charges for insufficient evidence saying that “the reporter was lawfully present at a press conference called by the Governor of the state. His conduct was consistent with the purpose of the event and his role as a reporter.”
Yost noted that tensions were high in the days following the derailment and that it seemed as though local officials who arrested Lambert were following “Harris’ example.”
“Regardless of the intent, arresting a journalist reporting at a press conference is a serious matter. Ohio protects a free press under its constitution, and state officials should remember to exercise a heightened level of restraint in using arrest powers,” Yost said.
Harris accused Lambert of being too loud during his newscast; however, reporters frequently have to speak in front of cameras while public leaders speak in the background when reporting live news broadcasts.
DeWine stated that Harris “should not have stopped” Lambert.
“The initial confrontation never should have occurred. I think the general regrets that. I explained to him how press conferences work, and sometimes someone will be reporting. They have the right to deliver the news. He regrets the whole situation,” DeWine said.
Although state leaders say that the incident should never have occurred, Harris is not facing any charges or disciplinary action.
Neither NewsNation nor the Ohio National Guard responded to The Ohio Star before press time if they believed the award was justified in light of the Lambert incident.
Harris commands the Ohio Guard and its 17,000 troops, one of the largest National Guards in the country. When DeWine became governor in 2019, he appointed Harris to the position. Harris has been in the Army since 1981 and deployed to Kosovo in 2004.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
