Ohio GOP amplified conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer’s attacks on Amy Acton. Hours later, she called Canfield incident ‘fake news’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hours before Laura Loomer began questioning an armed incident involving Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair and accusing Democrats of lying about what happened, the Ohio Republican Party was using its official account to amplify Loomer’s attacks on the Democratic candidate for governor and publicly crediting her previous reporting.

The sequence puts new scrutiny on the state Republican Party’s decision to elevate Loomer, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist whose rhetoric has drawn condemnation from Democrats, civil-rights advocates and Republicans alike.

On Saturday, Loomer posted an allegation from an unidentified person she described as a “Democrat strategist” who she said had attended an Acton campaign event with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Loomer claimed the unnamed source told her Acton’s breath smelled of alcohol and that she was slurring her words. Loomer did not identify the person making the allegation or provide independent evidence establishing that Acton had been drinking.

The official Ohio Republican Party account amplified the allegation anyway.

“Legitimate questions persist,” the party wrote, accusing the media of providing cover for Acton before adding: “Loomer broke the last bombshell—that Acton’s daughter called police. Now this.”

Loomer then reposted the Ohio GOP’s message to her own audience.

By Sunday afternoon, Acton was at the Canfield Fair when 38-year-old Patrick Havas forced his way through a crowd toward her, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The patrol said Havas knocked multiple fairgoers over while trying to reach Acton and was found carrying a Taser and two pistols. The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office said two handguns and brass knuckles were recovered and that the weapons were never removed from their holsters.

Havas was arrested and booked on two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct. Acton was not injured.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said the man “tried to forcefully push himself toward Dr. Acton as she was speaking” and condemned violence or threats of violence at political events. Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign also condemned the incident.

Loomer took a different approach.

In a series of posts after the arrest, Loomer accused Democrats of lying about the incident, compared Acton to Jussie Smollett and suggested the confrontation was being exaggerated to distract from her allegations about Acton and alcohol.

“Amy should change her name to Amy Smollett,” Loomer wrote, invoking the actor convicted of falsely reporting a hate crime.

Loomer argued that Havas merely being armed did not mean he had attempted to use a gun and accused Democrats of pretending someone had planned a mass shooting. She continued referring to Acton as “Drunk Amy” and subsequently questioned whether Acton appeared sober in video from the weekend.

Other posts from Loomer characterized reporting surrounding the incident as “fake news.”

Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, who has spent two decades working in Democratic politics, argued that months of rhetoric directed at Acton helped create the environment surrounding Sunday’s incident.

“Vivek Ramaswamy and other MAGA hacks like Donald Trump Jr and Laura Loomer have been lying about Amy Acton for months — calling her a ‘leftwing psychopath,’ an alcoholic, a socialist and other hateful slurs. I imagine that’s more than likely responsible for this attack. Every Republican must condemn this now,” Nellis said.

Law enforcement has not said Havas drew a firearm, threatened Acton with one or planned a shooting. Authorities also have not publicly identified his motive.

But law enforcement has independently confirmed that Havas forced his way through the crowd toward Acton, knocked people to the ground and was carrying multiple weapons when officers intervened.

The Associated Press described Havas as an “armed assailant” who charged toward Acton, citing the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s account of the confrontation.

The episode came just hours after the Ohio GOP had held Loomer up to its followers as a source of information about Acton.

It also was not Loomer’s first appearance in the state party’s attacks on the Democratic nominee.

In August, Loomer promoted records concerning a 2019 domestic-disturbance call at Acton’s home, declaring that Acton was “getting LOOMERED.” The Ohio GOP subsequently used the same episode in its own attacks on Acton, highlighting a dispatch-record statement that Acton’s daughter had told authorities her mother had been drinking and throwing things.

The Sept. 6 exchange went further by explicitly crediting Loomer by name: “Loomer broke the last bombshell,” the Ohio GOP wrote.

That decision came less than a week after Loomer faced renewed national condemnation for racist attacks on prominent Black women.

Reuters reported Aug. 31 that Loomer attacked Florida Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Angie Nixon with racist language and had made similarly racist and misogynistic comments about Nixon, U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The condemnation crossed party lines.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene denounced Loomer’s rhetoric, while other prominent Republicans have previously criticized her public statements. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has described Loomer’s record of comments as “beyond disturbing,” and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has called her a conspiracy theorist.

Loomer has also publicly described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and has a long history of inflammatory statements and conspiracy theories. Reuters reported last week that she has nearly 2 million followers on X and remains a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump despite holding no formal administration position.

The Ohio Republican Party did not immediately respond to TiffinOhio.net’s request for comment.

TiffinOhio.net asked the party whether it stands by its decision to amplify Loomer, whether it considers her a credible source, whether it condemns her recent racist remarks and whether it agrees with her characterization of the Canfield Fair incident.

The party also did not immediately say whether it intends to continue amplifying Loomer’s material in the Ohio governor’s race.