Both parties respond to incident at Canfield Fair
An armed man was arrested at Ohio’s annual Canfield Fair on Sunday after charging toward Democratic Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. The patrol, assigned to protect Acton at the event, stopped the suspect before he reached her.
The suspect, identified by authorities as 38-year-old Patrick Havas of Canfield, was carrying two pistols when taken into custody, the patrol told the BBC in a statement. She and her husband Eric were not injured; her campaign team said several others were hurt as the man tried to “lunge” at her.
Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that Havas “aggressively shoved his way through the crowd toward Acton while holding a cell phone up.” Greene said Havas knocked over two people who were using mobility scooters during the incident.
Havas is being held at the county jail. He faces two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of disorderly conduct.
In a statement, Acton’s communications director said: “Dr Acton and [her husband] Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured. This kind of violence has no place in Ohio. Dr Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
Acton’s Republican rival for the Ohio governor’s seat, Vivek Ramaswamy — an ally of US President Donald Trump — condemned the attack through his own communications director, who said: “Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence. What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no-one was hurt.”
Incumbent Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, said there was no place for political violence at public events.
The incident follows years of high-profile political violence in the United States, including attempts on Trump’s life. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah last September. Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were also killed at their home in the state.