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CINCINNATI -- A billboard in Over-the-Rhine was removed after the owner of the building it was on received threats.
The billboard, which read "Don’t Believe In God? You are not alone," came down early Thursday morning. The United Coalition of Reason had purchased a one-month run on a billboard at Reading Road and 12th Street on Tuesday.
The UCR said it was contacted by Lamar Advertising on Wednesday afternoon and told that the landowner of the site had been threatened over the billboard's message and wanted it taken down.
Unlike other billboard locations, Lamar only leased the land the billboard was on.
"We weren't given the landowner's identity or precise details," Fred Edwords, national director of the UCR, said in a news release. "Nor did we pursue them. It was sufficient to learn that multiple, significant threats had been received and that Lamar would act quickly to alleviate the problem."
The new location off the Sixth Street viaduct is owned by Lamar and isn't subject to landowner restrictions.
The billboards have gone up in 14 cities so far, with plans to expand to 20 cities. Representatives with the UCR said this is the only billboard that has had to be moved.
"It's unfortunate that some believe in freedom of speech, as long as it's what they're saying," said John Welte of the Free Inquiry Group, which is part of the UCR.
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