Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 2905
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12 (2026)

Coercion

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
January 1, 2004
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 490 - 124th General Assembly
PDF:
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(A) No person, with purpose to coerce another into taking or refraining from action concerning which the other person has a legal freedom of choice, shall do any of the following:

(1) Threaten to commit any offense;

(2) Utter or threaten any calumny against any person;

(3) Expose or threaten to expose any matter tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule, to damage any person's personal or business repute, or to impair any person's credit;

(4) Institute or threaten criminal proceedings against any person;

(5) Take, withhold, or threaten to take or withhold official action, or cause or threaten to cause official action to be taken or withheld.

(B) Divisions (A)(4) and (5) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit a prosecutor or court from doing any of the following in good faith and in the interests of justice:

(1) Offering or agreeing to grant, or granting immunity from prosecution pursuant to section 2945.44 of the Revised Code;

(2) In return for a plea of guilty to one or more offenses charged or to one or more other or lesser offenses, or in return for the testimony of the accused in a case to which the accused is not a party, offering or agreeing to dismiss, or dismissing one or more charges pending against an accused, or offering or agreeing to impose, or imposing a certain sentence or modification of sentence;

(3) Imposing a community control sanction on certain conditions, including without limitation requiring the offender to make restitution or redress to the victim of the offense.

(C) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A)(3), (4), or (5) of this section that the actor's conduct was a reasonable response to the circumstances that occasioned it, and that the actor's purpose was limited to any of the following:

(1) Compelling another to refrain from misconduct or to desist from further misconduct;

(2) Preventing or redressing a wrong or injustice;

(3) Preventing another from taking action for which the actor reasonably believed the other person to be disqualified;

(4) Compelling another to take action that the actor reasonably believed the other person to be under a duty to take.

(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of coercion, a misdemeanor of the second degree.

(E) As used in this section:

(1) "Threat" includes a direct threat and a threat by innuendo.

(2) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 31 cases (14 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: State v. Dahms, 2017 Ohio 4221 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).
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State v. Dahms, 2017 Ohio 4221 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 5× “{¶75} The State presented sufficient evidence that Dahms made an unlawful threat because the State presented sufficient evidence that Dahms committed the predicate offense of coercion in violation of R.C. 2905.12. See Cress at ¶ 43 (concluding that conduct constituting the…”
Hoerig v. Bowling Green State Univ., 2023 Ohio 3189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 12× “360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III); (3) BGSU coerced appellants to accept medical treatment in violation of R.C. 2905.12; and (4) the Policy requires appellants to take a vaccine not approved by the FDA in violation of R.”
State v. Cress, 858 N.E.2d 341 (Ohio 2006). · cites it 2× “For example, where the making of a threat constitutes the offense of coercion, in violation of R.C. 2905.12, 1 a misdemeanor, that offense would serve as a predicate offense for the crime of witness intimidation as proscribed by R.”
Siliko v. Miami Univ., 2022 Ohio 4133 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 16× “We agree that appellants have not established standing to bring their claims that Miami University's COVID-19 vaccination policy violates Article I, Section I of the Ohio Constitution, R.C. 2905.12, 3709.212, or 3792.04(B)(1) and find dismissal of those claims proper.”
State v. Steele, 2013 Ohio 2470 (Ohio 2013). “R.C. 2905.12(B). Many weapons-possession statutes explicitly exclude authorized law-enforcement officers who are acting within the scope of their duties.”
State v. Cunningham, 899 N.E.2d 171 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 3× “11), coercion (R.C. 2905.12), and menacing by stalking (R.”
Roe v. Franklin Cnty., 673 N.E.2d 172 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “*783 Plaintiffs premise their RICO claims on the predicate offense of “coercion” in violation of R.C. 2905.12. However, R.C. 2905.12(D) expressly provides that “coercion” is a misdemeanor of the second degree.”
State v. Workman, 471 N.E.2d 853 (Ohio Ct. App. 1984). “As stated in the Committee Comment to R.C. 2905.12, coercion is not a lesser included offense of extortion when the offender is attempting to extort something of value or compel a person to act unlawfully.”
State v. Whitaker, 2013 Ohio 4434 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013). “11(A)(1) and/or (A)(2) (second-degree felonies), and one count of Preble CA2012-10-013 coercion in violation of R.C. 2905.12(A)(1) (a second-degree misdemeanor).”
Huber Hts. Vet.'s Club, Inc. v. Bowman, 2021 Ohio 3944 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “11, R.C. 2905.12, R.C. 2913.49 and R.C. 2921.”
Friends of Ferguson v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 690 N.E.2d 601 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997). “The first claim concerned an indictment against Ferguson on a single charge alleging a violation of R.C. 2905.12. The charge was ultimately dismissed before *334 trial.”
Lipp v. Univ. of Cincinnati, 2023 Ohio 1224 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 8× “{¶9} Third, the amended complaint alleged that the University’s policies violated R.C. 2905.12, a criminal statute concerning coercion.”
Show all 31 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(A) — 10 cases
State v. Dahms, 2017 Ohio 4221 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). “{¶75} The State presented sufficient evidence that Dahms made an unlawful threat because the State presented sufficient evidence that Dahms committed the predicate offense of coercion in violation of R.C. 2905.12. See Cress at ¶ 43 (concluding that conduct constituting the…”
State v. Cress, 858 N.E.2d 341 (Ohio 2006). “For example, where the making of a threat constitutes the offense of coercion, in violation of R.C. 2905.12, 1 a misdemeanor, that offense would serve as a predicate offense for the crime of witness intimidation as proscribed by R.”
State v. Cunningham, 899 N.E.2d 171 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008). “11), coercion (R.C. 2905.12), and menacing by stalking (R.”
Argote-Romero v. LAZ Parking LTD., L.L.C., 2025 Ohio 400 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).
State v. Conese, 812 N.E.2d 306 (Ohio 2004).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(A)(1) — 1 case
State v. Whitaker, 2013 Ohio 4434 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013). “11(A)(1) and/or (A)(2) (second-degree felonies), and one count of Preble CA2012-10-013 coercion in violation of R.C. 2905.12(A)(1) (a second-degree misdemeanor).”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(A)(3) — 3 cases
Argote-Romero v. LAZ Parking LTD., L.L.C., 2025 Ohio 400 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).
State v. Vaughn, 2019 Ohio 5005 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
In re A.H., 2025 Ohio 2220 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(A)(5) — 3 cases
Hoerig v. Bowling Green State Univ., 2023 Ohio 3189 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023). “360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III); (3) BGSU coerced appellants to accept medical treatment in violation of R.C. 2905.12; and (4) the Policy requires appellants to take a vaccine not approved by the FDA in violation of R.”
Siliko v. Miami Univ., 2022 Ohio 4133 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “We agree that appellants have not established standing to bring their claims that Miami University's COVID-19 vaccination policy violates Article I, Section I of the Ohio Constitution, R.C. 2905.12, 3709.212, or 3792.04(B)(1) and find dismissal of those claims proper.”
Lipp v. Univ. of Cincinnati, 2023 Ohio 1224 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023). “{¶9} Third, the amended complaint alleged that the University’s policies violated R.C. 2905.12, a criminal statute concerning coercion.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(B) — 1 case
State v. Steele, 2013 Ohio 2470 (Ohio 2013). “R.C. 2905.12(B). Many weapons-possession statutes explicitly exclude authorized law-enforcement officers who are acting within the scope of their duties.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.12(D) — 1 case
Roe v. Franklin Cnty., 673 N.E.2d 172 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996). “*783 Plaintiffs premise their RICO claims on the predicate offense of “coercion” in violation of R.C. 2905.12. However, R.C. 2905.12(D) expressly provides that “coercion” is a misdemeanor of the second degree.”
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