Democrat Amy Acton vowed to continue on as a “fierce warrior” in her campaign for Ohio governor Monday, a day after law enforcement officials said an armed man aggressively attempted to confront her at a county fair.
“Yes, we had a rough day yesterday,” Acton told the crowd at a Labor Day parade and festival in Cleveland, NBC affiliate WKYC reported. “I am a fierce warrior in this fight. That’s exactly why I’m running. I refuse to look the other way like people didn’t look the other way when I was a struggling kid in Youngstown, Ohio. I won’t look the other way, and you are refusing to look the other way.”
Acton was not injured during the Sunday incident at Mahoning County’s Canfield Fair, near Youngstown, but several others in the crowd were, officials and witnesses said. A suspect, Patrick Havas, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and assault.
Havas, 38, could be formally charged as soon as Tuesday, said Gerry Ricciutti, a spokesperson for the Mahoning County sheriff and prosecutor.
On Sunday, Havas approached the local Democratic Party’s tent, where Acton was speaking, and began pushing his way through the crowd, according to accounts from the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Havas “knocked multiple fairgoers over” while advancing toward Acton, according to the Highway Patrol, which provides a security detail to Acton because of her candidacy for governor. A statement from Acton’s campaign spokesperson, Addie Bullock, said the suspect “lunged” at her.
Law enforcement officials reported finding two handguns, a set of brass knuckles and a Taser on Havas after arresting him. He did not brandish the weapons during the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Officials have not yet offered their thoughts on what motivated the confrontation.
Acton faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the November election. Polls have shown a close race in a state that has become redder since the political rise of President Donald Trump, an early backer of Ramaswamy’s campaign.
On Monday, three witnesses to the incident told NBC News that they saw the suspect knock two older attendees to the ground. They also said they watched as Acton, a physician and former state health director, administered care to them.
“Amy immediately went into action and gave care … while emts made it to the scene,” Lindsay Yaggi, referring to emergency medical technicians, wrote in a Facebook message. “She apologized that this happened to them and made sure they were ok before they had her leave.”
In an interview, former Rep. John Boccieri, D-Ohio, said he was standing “within arm’s length” of Acton and that the suspect made it “within feet” of her. The suspect entered the tent and appeared to be attempting to ask Acton questions while filming the confrontation on his cellphone, he said.
“He was yelling, ‘Dr. Acton! Dr. Acton!’ And when the State Highway Patrol and the security detail grabbed him, he said, ‘I was just trying to ask a question,’” said Boccieri, who described the incident as “an aggressive move from a very large man.” The suspect “started rushing and barreling towards Dr. Acton.”
Boccieri added: “He was not coming in the tent to give Dr. Action a hug. He was coming in more aggressively, and that’s what I saw.”
An older male attendee who was knocked down in the pursuit fell face down in the mud “right in front of Dr. Acton,” Boccieri recalled observing. “She immediately began rendering aid and care to the man.”
Acton, 60, served as Ohio’s health director under term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, during the early days of the Covid pandemic. Her role issuing stay-at-home orders made her a target for conservative activists and protesters, some of whom reportedly wielded guns and signs bearing antisemitic messages outside the Statehouse in Columbus and outside her home.
Acton, who is Jewish, downplayed those incidents as a factor in her resignation in June 2020.
Ramaswamy, 41, has emphasized Acton’s work during the pandemic in the general election contest. His campaign and his allies also are attacking Acton’s character — attempting to frame her as a quitter and calling attention to a 2019 incident at Acton’s home that police described as a “domestic dispute.” No charges were filed.
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Connie Luck, a Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson, said in a statement Sunday. “What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt.”
The Canfield Fair, which is celebrating its 180th year, is an annual destination for politicians in the Youngstown area, which like Ohio has moved more to the right in recent years. Trump and then-Vice President Joe Biden both visited in 2016.
“This is the largest county fair in Ohio,” Boccieri said. “Thousands of people come here, and to know and understand that someone’s walking around with a gun and brass knuckles and rushing towards a gubernatorial candidate is just frightening and scary. Luckily, the security detail was able to prevent something more tragic.”
