A MAGA politician sparked furious protests outside an Ohio family restaurant after visiting in the wake of his widely condemned campaign ad just ahead of Election Day.
In late October, the Ohio Republican Party announced that gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy and other GOP candidates would make a campaign bus stop at P.J. Marley’s, a popular burger joint in Medina, Ohio, near Cleveland.
Restaurant owners Patty and Jon Stahl had agreed to host the event before the controversial ad aired, and they refused to back down despite other businesses canceling on Ramaswamy.
The ad was targeted at Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
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In the ad, Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, accuses her of being a “liar” regarding her claims of a troubled childhood—a charge that brought into the spotlight Acton’s alleged rape at age 12 by her stepfather, whom Arthur defended instead of her own daughter. Arthur then lost custody of Acton and her brother, and the two women have not spoken since.
P.J. Marley’s in Medina, Ohio, was hit by a furious backlash after MAGA candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stopped by for his campaign.
As word got out of Ramaswamy’s campaign stop, screaming callers flooded the tavern’s phone line—including one call answered by a 16-year-old host—and online critics branded the owners “vile pedophile supporters” and “pedophile protectors.”
“People were saying, ‘Oh, you’re giving Vivek a platform,’” Jon Stahl told The New York Times. “I looked at it as he was giving us a platform.”
Stacey Bene, a retired social worker and longtime customer who privately disclosed to Patty Stahl that she was raped at age 14, urged her to cancel, she told the Times. “I cannot separate you from the messages you are allowing to be spread at your facility,” Bene wrote.
When Ramaswamy arrived on Oct. 31, roughly 200 protesters descended on the town square while a video truck displayed his photo alongside the question, “What kind of man runs this ad?”
Vivek Ramaswamy supporters were out in full force at his campaign stop at PJ Marley’s on October 31, 2026 in Medina, Ohio.
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Near the restaurant’s back patio, neighbor Kellie Biegel livestreamed herself shouting directly at diners, “There they are. Pedophile supporters!”
Vivek Ramaswamy at PJ Marley’s on October 31.
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Inside, Ramaswamy aides papered over the front windows with campaign signs while staffers faced verbal abuse whenever they stepped outside. Bartender Anthony Buchanan recalled a demonstrator yelling, “How can you work for them?”
Supporters attend an Ohio Republican Bus Tour campaign stop at PJ Marley’s on October 31, 2026 in Medina, Ohio.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Democrats ultimately swept nearly every statewide race in Ohio, leaving Ramaswamy to deliver a concession speech calling “to bring Ohio together.” Acton, who won the gubernatorial race after Ramaswamy’s desperate bid to smear her with the controversial campaign ad, let his concession call go to voicemail.
As the dust settled following the GOP’s brutal midterms wipeout, several Republicans blamed Ramaswamy and his campaign ad for their own electoral losses in the state. Ramaswamy himself fled town and apparently went into hiding after Ohio voters rejected him, quitting X, where he has 3.5 million followers.
The restaurant continues to get torched online more than a week after the elections.
Meanwhile, the harassment against the Stahls has dragged on, with one Facebook user gloating after the election, “You ruined your business over a loser!”
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