CLEVELAND — A Port Clinton woman is going to prison for her role in the street takeovers that paralyzed the city of Cleveland last fall.
Today, a judge sentenced 23-year-old Ashlyn Rogers to 18 months in prison for disrupting public service and 12 months in prison for aggravated riot. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Rogers would not look at the evidence the prosecution presented in court, including videos and text messages from her cell phone.
The evidence illustrated a pattern by Rogers in the days prior to when she was at other takeovers.
Back on Sept. 28 and 29, 2024, the city was shut down for hours when intersections were blocked as drivers did donuts around police cars, people fired airsoft guns at officers, and shot off fireworks.
The final event was on Interstate 90, where a party bus was attacked by a masked mob during a highway takeover.
Watch footage of that incident below:
On Sept. 28, the prosecutors stated that Rogers used her Instagram account to post rules, locations, and direct others to the illegal activity. She was also either a spectator or blocked intersections.
“The state’s not arguing she planned each individual occasion, but she amplified this illegal activity,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Connor Davin said.
Rogers’ defense attorney, Brad Wolfe, told the judge that real consequences for felony guilty pleas will far outlast the sentence given.
“Her reputation and her family’s are tarnished for a very long time, if not forever,” attorney Wolfe said.
Rogers read a statement to the court.
“I want to express I take full responsibility for my actions. I understand what I did was wrong and I deeply regret the choices that led me here. I’m not here to excuse or minimize my actions but to express my sincere remorse and to take accountability for the harm that was caused by my choices,” Rogers said.
Rogers put her head in her hands when the judge handed down her sentence.
Along with the prison time, she must forfeit her car, a 2020 Infiniti Q50.
Since the sentences run concurrently, Rogers will spend a year and a half in prison.
The judge gave her a 2-day jail credit.
