Armed man barrels through crowd toward Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton

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Police arrested 38-year-old Patrick Havas after authorities say he aggressively pushed through a crowd toward Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair on Sunday.
Authorities say Havas was carrying two pistols, a Taser and brass knuckles, but none of the weapons were drawn or brandished.
Acton was unharmed. Havas was booked on two assault counts and a disorderly conduct charge as authorities investigate what prompted the incident.

An armed man barreled through a crowd toward Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton on Sunday, knocking people down before her security detail stopped him, authorities say.

The incident unfolded around 2:30 p.m. at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent at the Canfield Fair, where Acton was speaking to supporters.

Authorities identified the man as Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield.

According to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Havas entered the tent holding up a cellphone as though he were recording the event before he began aggressively pushing his way through the crowd.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene.

Former Democratic Rep. John Boccieri, who was there, told The Washington Post that the man “barreled” through the gathering, knocking an elderly man and woman to the ground as he moved toward Acton.

CBS News reported that one of the people knocked over was an older man with Parkinson’s disease who hit his head after falling. Then Acton’s security detail intervened.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers confronted Havas before he reached the candidate, and Canfield Fair police took him into custody.

What police found on him immediately raised the stakes.

Authorities say Havas was carrying two handguns and brass knuckles. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said he also possessed a Taser.

But authorities emphasized an important distinction: None of the weapons was brandished or removed from its holster during the incident.

Acton was not injured.

Her campaign initially described Havas as an “armed individual” who “lunged” at the candidate and injured multiple people.

Acton remained at the fair afterward and was photographed helping tend to one of the people who had been knocked down.

Havas was taken to the Mahoning County Jail and booked on two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct.

Investigators have not publicly established his motive.

Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson urged people not to jump to conclusions about why Havas was there. “I don’t know why he was there — that’s for law enforcement to discover,” Anderson said.

Republicans quickly joined Democrats in condemning the incident.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he spoke with Acton afterward and confirmed she was OK. “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable,” DeWine said.

Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, issued an unequivocal condemnation through his campaign. “Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Ramaswamy communications director Connie Luck said. “What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics.”

Republican Sen. Jon Husted similarly said there was “no place for this kind of behavior.”

The incident comes with less than two months remaining in one of the country’s most closely watched gubernatorial races. Acton, Ohio’s former health director who became nationally known during the COVID pandemic, is facing Ramaswamy in November.

For now, however, the political implications take a back seat to what investigators still need to determine: Why an armed man forced his way through a crowd toward a candidate for governor in the first place.