CANFIELD, Ohio — The man arrested after an armed confrontation involving Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair on Sunday is affiliated with the Republican Party, voter records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net show.
Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield, was jailed after authorities said he pushed toward Acton while she was visiting the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent and knocked two people to the ground.
Voter-registration records reviewed by TiffinOhio.net list Havas as a Republican.
Ohio does not require voters to declare a political party when they initially register to vote. Instead, Ohio law determines a voter’s party affiliation through participation in partisan primary elections. A voter affiliates with a party by requesting that party’s primary ballot, and county boards of elections update party-affiliation records based on that voting history.
Havas’ Republican affiliation does not establish a motive for Sunday’s incident. Authorities had not publicly said Sunday evening why Havas approached the Democratic Party tent or whether his actions were politically motivated.
Mahoning County Democratic Party Chair Christopher Anderson similarly cautioned against speculating about Havas’ intent.
“I don’t know why he was there — that’s for law enforcement to discover, but I’m grateful that the Ohio State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement officials stopped the situation before anything could happen, if malice was his intent,” Anderson told The Vindicator.
Havas was arrested by Mahoning County Sheriff’s deputies Sunday afternoon and booked into the Mahoning County jail on assault and disorderly conduct charges, according to jail records cited by The Vindicator.
Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene said two older adults were knocked to the ground as Havas pushed toward the front of the tent where Acton was visiting. Havas had two guns in his possession when he was taken into custody, according to reporting from WFMJ carried by WPXI.
Mahoning County Democratic Party Vice Chair Maria Pappas separately told The Vindicator that Havas had a gun, a stun weapon and brass knuckles when he was arrested.
Acton’s campaign said Havas lunged toward the Democratic nominee for governor, injuring multiple people.
“While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people. Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured,” Acton campaign Communications Director Addie Bullock said in a statement Sunday.
Acton was not injured. Gov. Mike DeWine said he spoke with Acton afterward and described the incident as a man trying “to forcefully push himself toward Dr. Acton as she was speaking” before injuring other attendees.
The incident was also reported nationally by The Associated Press, which said Acton was unharmed and authorities were investigating.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign condemned the incident.
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence. What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt,” Connie Luck, communications director for Vivek for Ohio, said in a statement reported by local media.
Havas remained in the Mahoning County jail Sunday evening, with no bond set. He is expected to make an initial appearance in Mahoning County Court in Canfield after the Labor Day holiday.
TiffinOhio.net previously reported on the incident as it unfolded Sunday afternoon.
