A man was arrested Sunday after moving aggressively toward Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, according to the authorities.
Dr. Acton was giving a speech at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent at a fair in Canfield when a man pushed through the crowd, knocking over two elderly audience members, according to the county sheriff, Jerry Greene, and a witness. Two men in Dr. Acton’s security detail detained and handcuffed the man, according to Sheriff Greene.
The man will face two counts of misdemeanor assault, one for each individual he knocked over, Sheriff Greene said. The victims were assessed for potential injuries and chose not to seek further treatment, Sheriff Greene said. He said that Dr. Acton was not injured.
A representative for Dr. Acton’s campaign said in a statement that a person who was armed “lunged at” Dr. Acton. “Multiple people” were injured in the incident, according to the statement from Addie Bullock, the communications director for Dr. Acton’s campaign. Ms. Bullock said Dr. Acton and her husband, Eric, were grateful for the “decisive action of law enforcement” and praying for those injured.
The man was found to have two firearms after he was detained, but he did not draw the weapons, Sheriff Greene said.
Asked about the assailant’s intent, the sheriff said: “I think it was to ask her a couple of questions. He was just, you know, pretty aggressive about it.”
Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said that the man tried to “forcefully push himself toward Dr. Acton” and that he injured other attendees. Law enforcement will “thoroughly” investigate the incident, he added.
“We spoke to Dr. Acton this afternoon and she said to share with Ohioans that she is ok,” Mr. DeWine wrote in a post on X. “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable.”
Mike Ray, a City Council member in Youngstown who said he witnessed the incident, said a man began “heckling” Dr. Acton as she was addressing the crowd at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent, then knocked two older adults to the ground. He was then handcuffed and detained, according to Mr. Ray, who is also a member of the Ohio Democratic Party executive committee. The incident cut her speech short, he said.
The campaign of Dr. Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, issued a statement saying that what happened was “completely unacceptable.”
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Connie Luck, Mr. Ramaswamy’s spokeswoman, said in a statement Sunday evening. “What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt.”
Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate for a Senate seat in Ohio, said in a statement that he was “grateful that Dr. Acton and all involved are safe, and we thank the Ohio law enforcement officers for their quick and professional response.”
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