An armed assailant lunged at Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair on Sunday, injuring several people before being arrested by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The suspect, identified as Patrick Havas, 38, knocked volunteers to the ground before troopers stopped him, according to a statement from Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman Chris Anderson.
The Ohio gubernatorial race is one of the most closely watched in this year’s midterm elections, and campaigns are entering the final six weeks before the November 3 vote. Acton, the state’s former public health director, is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who has parlayed national name recognition, tech industry connections, and an alliance with Donald Trump into a record fundraising haul that he is tapping for advertising spots aimed at the election.
Weapons recovered, charges filed
The highway patrol, which made the arrest, said Havas had two pistols and a Taser before he was stopped by troopers. Police officers from Mahoning County said two handguns and a set of brass knuckles were recovered after the incident. Havas was booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault at the county jail. No other details were available pending an investigation, the highway patrol added.
Sheriff Jerry Greene told local NBC outlet 21 News that the suspect knocked down two older adults during the incident. Greene said Havas is expected to be charged with assault and disorderly conduct. Acton was not injured. Campaign officials said multiple people were hurt. A photo shared to social media by a fair attendee showed Acton checking on one of those injured. The fairground’s police department referred inquiries to the Mahoning County sheriff’s department, which did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Condemnations from across the aisle
Campaign spokesperson Addie Bullock said in a statement that Acton is grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and is praying for the recovery of those injured. “This kind of violence has no place in Ohio,” Bullock said. “Dr Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
Anderson called the incident reprehensible. “What happened at our tent today during today’s visit from Dr Acton is reprehensible and should be condemned by leaders on all sides of the aisle,” he said in a statement.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican who is unable to run for re-election because of term limits, condemned the attack and said Ohio police at the fair quickly responded to the incident at the Mahoning County Democratic booth. Ramaswamy called the attack completely unacceptable.
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” said Ramaswamy’s communications director, Connie Luck, in a statement on Sunday. “What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt.”
Abdul El-Sayad, Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, also denounced the attack in a social media post. “There’s no place for political violence in America,” El-Sayad said. “Our prayers go out to Dr. Acton and her team, and we hope that this moment is yet another wake up call regarding how important it is to make sure that democracy is a process by which we address our political differences peacefully.”
The attempted attack is the latest in a string of political violence cases in the United States, which has seen a rise in similar incidents over the past decade. In 2025, Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were assassinated at their home. The husband of former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was assaulted in 2022. Trump was the target of two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, while an armed man attempted to breach security at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where the president was in attendance. Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on security during the 2023 to 2024 campaign cycle, according to the most recent publicly available data cited by the nonpartisan group Public Service Alliance.