Mahoning County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 38-year-old Canfield man Sunday after he forced his way through a crowd toward Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair, knocking down volunteers and two elderly attendees before troopers intervened. The suspect, Patrick Havas, was found carrying two handguns, a Taser and a set of brass knuckles, though investigators said none of the weapons were removed from their holsters or displayed during the confrontation.
The episode unfolded shortly after 2:30 p.m. inside a tent the Mahoning County Democratic Party had set up at the annual fair in Canfield, a Youngstown suburb, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gerry Ricciutti. Havas entered recording video on a cellphone and pushed through the audience as Acton addressed the crowd. Acton’s security detail, drawn from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, moved to stop him; in the process, two people were knocked to the ground.
Acton, a physician who was not hurt, remained at the scene afterward to check on one of the injured attendees, according to a photograph shared with NBC News by a person present.
Democratic state house candidate Wayne Penny Jr. described the scene as chaotic, saying Havas “bull-rushed through the crowd” and struck an elderly man who has Parkinson’s disease, causing him to fall and hit his head. The extent of that man’s injuries had not been disclosed as of Sunday night.
Havas was booked into Mahoning County Jail on two misdemeanor counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct. Court records did not yet list the case by Sunday evening, and it was not immediately clear whether he had retained a lawyer. Ohio State Highway Patrol, which said it is jointly investigating the incident with the sheriff’s office, has released no information on a possible motive, and no additional charges had been filed as of publication.
Ohio permits both open and concealed carry of handguns without a license for adults 21 and older, and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene told reporters the items found on Havas — including the brass knuckles — were legal for him to carry. State law on knuckle-duster weapons is unsettled elsewhere in Ohio: several county prosecutors have pursued concealed-weapons charges over brass knuckles in the past, citing a state appellate ruling that classifies them as deadly weapons. Neither the sheriff’s office nor the highway patrol addressed that discrepancy directly in their public statements.
Acton’s campaign said in a statement from communications director Addie Bullock that the candidate and her husband, Eric, were “grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement” and were “praying for the recovery of those injured.” Bullock added that the campaign considers the episode part of a broader pattern that “has no place in Ohio.”
Reaction crossed party lines. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who cannot seek reelection because of term limits, said Havas “tried to forcefully push himself” toward Acton and called violence at political events “always unacceptable.” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson expressed confidence in the highway patrol’s investigation and said he was “thankful she was unharmed.” Republican Sen. Jon Husted wrote on social media that he and his wife were disturbed by the episode and credited law enforcement’s quick response.
Acton, 60, entered elected politics for the first time after building a public profile as Ohio’s health director during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when DeWine tapped her from a faculty post at Ohio State University to run the state’s coronavirus response. Her daily appearances alongside DeWine made her a well-known figure in Ohio households, but the business closures and mask mandates she oversaw also drew sustained backlash, including armed demonstrations outside her home and a legislative push by statehouse Republicans to curb the health director’s regulatory powers. She resigned the post in mid-2020 and has since moved through a series of shorter roles in nonprofit and community-development work.
She is now trying to become the first Democrat to win the Ohio governorship in two decades, running against Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman and former presidential candidate with substantial personal wealth and national name recognition. Ramaswamy’s campaign, in a statement, called Sunday’s incident “completely unacceptable.” A political group aligned with President Donald Trump has separately pledged $10 million in television and digital advertising in Ohio ahead of the November vote, part of a broader $500 million commitment Trump has said he intends to direct toward Republican candidates nationally this cycle.
Sunday’s incident adds to a run of episodes federal and state officials have flagged as evidence of rising political violence in the United States over the past decade. Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home in 2025. Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was assaulted by an intruder in 2022. Trump himself survived two assassination attempts during his 2024 presidential campaign, and an armed man tried to breach security outside this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while Trump was in attendance.
Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on security during the 2023-2024 election cycle, according to the most recent figures compiled by the nonpartisan Public Service Alliance. The Ohio governor’s race, one of the most closely watched contests of the 2026 midterms, enters its final six weeks before the November 3 election with both campaigns’ security postures now likely to face fresh scrutiny.
