Heavily Armed Republican Attacks Dem Candidate in MAGA Heartland

A heavily armed man attacked Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at a fair in Ohio’s MAGA heartland on Sunday afternoon.

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The man “lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people” while Acton, 60, was attending the Canfield Fair in northeastern Ohio, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement.

The suspect who attacked Acton has been identified as 38-year-old Patrick Havas, a registered Republican.

Havas barged into the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s tent and shoved his way through the crowd, knocking two people to the ground as he made his way to the front, officials on the scene told WFMJ.

WFMJ said he was carrying two firearms.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine later said that Acton was unhurt and condemned political violence in an X post.

Havas has been arrested and has been charged with two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct, according to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office inmate list.

A graduate of Youngstown State University, Havas is a licensed nurse and lives in Canfield, according to public records the Daily Beast reviewed.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Acton for comment.

This isn’t the first time the Havas family has had a brush with the law: Patrick Havas’ brother, Andrew Havas, was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor following a 2008 incident involving a 15-year-old in Mahoning County, according to court records reviewed by NBC News.

Andrew, who was 22 at the time, was accused of knowing that the minor was older than 13 but younger than 16 and of being reckless about the minor’s age.

As part of a plea deal, the sexual-misconduct charge was reduced to a single misdemeanor assault count.

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Andrew pleaded guilty to the reduced charge in 2009 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, ordered to pay a fine, and barred from having contact with the minor.

Andrew later served as a volunteer Franklin County campaign chair for Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted. He resigned in July after NBC News contacted the campaign about the case.

Husted’s campaign said Andrew had not disclosed his criminal history and that it immediately accepted his resignation after learning about it.

Patrick Havas’ alleged attack on Acton drew condemnation from both sides of the aisle.

In his X post, DeWine wrote, “We are grateful for the quick work of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and other law enforcement on the scene at the Canfield Fair today when a man tried to forcefully push himself toward Dr. Acton as she was speaking and injured other attendees at the Mahoning County Democrat booth.”

He added, “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable. This case is now in the hands of law enforcement and will be investigated thoroughly.”

The attack also drew condemnation from Acton’s Republican opponent, former DOGE boss co-chair Ramaswamy.

“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,” his spokesperson said.