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A long Republican stronghold, the first capital of Ohio, Chillicothe, had for the most part stayed out of the Loud Revolution of 1945. For a decade, it had long been a holdout against any authority, whether it be that of the Industrial Unionists that now dominates most of Ohio, or the rump claimant state government in Portsmouth, the people of Chillicothe had stood proudly independent of wider authority for nearly a decade. Despite that however, hard times have recently befallen upon this small city south of Columbus. Using the city's status as a lawless land sandwiched in-between 2 larger authorities, organized crime has devastated the city and its surrounding farmlands, with extortionate tactics they blockaded the city from the outside world for ransom, while turning the local paper mill into an arms factory to funnel weapons into Columbus. The elected mayor of the city, 68 year old Ron Llewlyn Sheppard had secretly requested assistance from the Columbus Workers' Defense Council.

Private Communist informants in Columbus however, managed to intercept the message, and action was swiftly taken. The Cleveland 1st Cavalry was rapidly deployed South before the Columbus WDC could respond to the plea, and within 2 days armoured units of the infamous "Red Guards" have seized Chillicothe and arrested the criminal elements. While welcomed by the people of Chillicothe, the mood soon soured when Governor Williamson demanded the city accept state authority. With the Red Guards still occupying the city, Sheppard was forced to relent, which then prompted demands from Columbus that an election was overdue given Chillicothe's status over the past 10 years and a lack of organized governance, the re-establishment of order in the city would require new elections and a new city council, protests broke out in support of their long time beloved mayor. The Williamson and his allies used the unrest as a justification for the dissolution of Ross County as a whole, and incorporating it into Cuyahoga County, essentially making it an exclave outgrowth of Cleveland.

While the tactic was straightforward and effective, it lack the subtlety that the Communists were looking for and caused much concern amongst the AFL leadership, drawing attention to the CPUSA. Despite this however, the episode had shown the Communist leadership the power they now wield with the legitimacy of the State Government now under their control. Lausche's Regime may have been defanged and caused the State Government to lose its power, the newly inaugurated Communists are backed by a disciplined Red Guard willing to enforce their will. In the following weeks, the State Assembly in Columbus would declare much of non-WDC incorporated eastern Ohio to be under active revolt, and offers the Youngstown and Pittsburgh WDC legitimate cover in extending their areas of jurisdiction over these lands. This would go against the unspoken norm established during the Quiet Revolution, where Communes would only be established should the people of the area themselves wish to unionize and join the ULF. Despite this however, much of the ruling coalition of labor leaders that leads the ULF now wishes to export the revolution, and they would snap at the bait that the Communists have laid out.