CINCINNATI — Aggravated menacing charges against District 1 Congressional candidate Rosemary Oglesby-Henry were dropped Monday, more than a month after then-Cincinnati City Council candidate Kevin Farmer accused her of pointing a gun at him inside her home.
For the first time since her arrest, Oglesby-Henry sat down for an interview to discuss what happened, how it has impacted her personally and how she plans to get her campaign to take Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman's seat in 2026 back on track.
First, we asked her how she was feeling after the charges were dismissed.
"I'm feeling a sense of relief. However, it was so traumatizing," Oglesby-Henry said.
WATCH: One-on-one with Rosemary Oglesby-Henry
The long-time nonprofit CEO said the dismissal of charges backed her claim that the accusations were false.
"There never was a gun. There was no argument," she said. "He premeditated this story."
Oglesby-Henry said while sitting in jail, she was visualizing doors shutting to all of the opportunities she'd worked her life to open.
"I was crying all the way until they took me to jail because I grew up in the urban community. I'm 46 years old. I've never been in trouble," she said. "Hurt, pain, betrayal, those emotions are just cycling inside of you, but when you're behind bars, you can't drop tears. Because your tears don't mean anything."
We tried to interview Farmer after Oglesby-Henry's initial court appearance, but he stopped answering our calls and didn't answer the door when we knocked on the door at the home where he was staying.
Farmer later checked himself into a mental health facility and, according to a statement from Oglesby-Henry's campaign, admitted to making up the story about her having a gun.
"According to documents obtained by counsel, Mr. Farmer, who later (per his own social media page) checked himself into a mental health hospital and was subsequently probated and involuntarily held, confessed to fabricating the story 'to get Rosemary arrested' out of malice and to exploit Ms. Oglesby-Henry through the media," the statement read.
Farmer was arrested days before the election and charged with breaking into Oglesby-Henry's home.
We asked her what she felt towards Farmer now, given their years of friendship.
"I don't feel anything," she said. "I'm kind of numb."
Given that Farmer's accusations came less than a month after she launched her campaign, we asked whether she had reconsidered her Republican bid in the District 1 congressional race.
"It makes you reconsider your entire life," she said.
The candidate said she thought about the young people she regularly works with, though, and decided to continue her campaign.
"I thought about what I was actually fighting for, but, backing out, I can't change legislation if I run. This isn't something I did, and Mrs. Rosemary is a person that always moves forward," she said.
Farmer was still in the Hamilton County Justice Center on Tuesday, facing charges of burglary and violation of a protective order.
We reached out to Landsman's team for comment on these developments around a potential opponent, and we did not hear back.
