U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) posted a blunt two-word response on the social media platform X to reports about four adults charged in the Vinton County case involving 16 children found living in deplorable conditions.
“Hang them,” Burchett wrote in reply to a post summarizing the charges against Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr., and Elizabeth Siders.
Authorities discovered the children, ages 18 months to 18 years, on June 30 in a home in Hamden while serving an unrelated search warrant. Officials described a small room where the children had reportedly been confined for much of the past four years amid filth, human waste, and debris. Some children appeared unable to speak. Several required hospital care, including two airlifted to trauma centers in Columbus. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson and local officials called the conditions horrific and “third world,” with one describing the scene as “pure evil.”
Each of the four adults faces 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony in Ohio. Vinton County prosecutors stated the case is an intra-family matter and not human trafficking. All four pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Bond for each was set at $300,000. The children are now in state custody.
Burchett, who has previously called for severe penalties including public hanging for those convicted of crimes against children, made the comment amid public reaction to the allegations. The investigation by Vinton County authorities and the Ohio Attorney General’s office remains ongoing.
Anyone with information about the family or the children is asked to contact the Ohio Attorney General’s tip line at 855-BCI-OHIO.
