Dr. Amy Acton was mid-sentence, talking to a crowd at the Canfield Fair, when a man started pushing his way toward her. Two elderly bystanders on mobility scooters went down before anyone could stop him.
What Happened
The incident unfolded around 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent at the annual Canfield Fair, near Youngstown. According to the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office, 38-year-old Patrick Havas of Canfield walked into the tent holding up a cellphone, then aggressively shoved through the crowd toward Acton as she addressed attendees. In the process, he knocked two older people off their mobility scooters, sending one to the ground.
What Police Found on Him
Officers arrested Havas and recovered two handguns, a set of brass knuckles, and — according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol — a Taser. He did not draw or brandish any of the weapons during the incident. He was booked into the Mahoning County Jail on two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct.
How Acton Responded
Acton, a physician, was not injured. Rather than leave the scene, she stayed to personally attend to one of the fairgoers who had been knocked to the ground — treating it, by her campaign's account, like the medical emergency it was rather than a security crisis she needed to flee.
Why This Race Is Being Watched So Closely
Acton, Ohio's former public health director during the early days of COVID-19, is the Democratic nominee running to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine. She faces Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy in what's shaping up to be a tight November race. An incident like this — an armed man forcing his way toward a candidate in a public crowd — lands directly in the middle of a national conversation about the safety of political candidates on the campaign trail, regardless of party.
