Armed man arrested after pushing through crowd toward Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee

By Gregory Clary, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

(CNN) — A man later found to have weapons on him allegedly pushed through a crowd toward Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton on Sunday and injured multiple people at a fair in Canfield, a campaign spokesperson and the local county sheriff said.

“While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people,” Acton spokesperson Addie Bullock said in a statement. “Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured.”

Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene identified the individual as 38-year-old Patrick Havas. He is expected to face two charges of assault and one count of disorderly conduct after two older adults were knocked down during the incident, Greene said. The extent of injuries to those knocked down isn’t clear.

Greene said law enforcement found two firearms and a pair of brass knuckles on Havas after the incident, though neither of those weapons were brandished during the alleged attack. Havas, of Canfield, allegedly entered the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent, using his cell phone to record Acton as she was speaking to a crowd, and started pushing his way through before being knocked to the ground by Acton’s security detail, according to Greene.

“Dr. Acton’s security detail, which was made up of Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers confronted Havas, and as that was happening, two people were knocked to the ground,” Greene said in a statement.

Acton, the former director of Ohio’s Department of Health, is running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a closely watched race for the governor’s office.

With political violence in the country an increasing concern, news of the alleged attack rippled through social media on Sunday, with commenters expressing both anger and relief that the incident wasn’t worse.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly from Arizona, whose wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt after meeting with constituents in 2011 said he spoke to Acton on Sunday and called her, “tough.”

“There’s no place in our society for political violence. An issue that unfortunately Gabby and I are very familiar with. I want to thank law enforcement for stopping this attack. Perpetrators of political violence must be brought to justice,” Kelly said in a social media post.

CNN has reached out to the Acton campaign and the Canfield Police Department for more details. According to a Mahoning County inmate listing, Havas does not yet have an attorney representing him.

Former Democratic Rep. John Boccieri said he witnessed the incident while standing in the tent. He told CNN that a very “large individual, white male, came barreling through the tent, and started pushing people to the ground as if he was trying to rush her.” He had been holding a phone camera up, Boccieri noted.

Two elderly adults standing in front of Acton were knocked to the ground in the rush, and one of them appeared to fall and hit his head on the table right in front of her, Boccieri said.

After Havas was subdued and taken into custody, Boccieri said, he helped pick up the individual who had seemingly hit his head and Acton began “assisting and administering care” to him, before her security team returned and escorted her out of the tent.

This incident comes in an era of political violence with multiple assassination attempts on President Donald Trump over the last few years and near the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

Ramaswamy’s campaign denounced the incident in a statement on Sunday evening.

“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” communications director Connie Luck said. “What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics, and we hope that no one was hurt.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, who had appointed Acton to lead the state health department during his administration, said he was thankful Acton wasn’t hurt and condemned the act of violence.

“Fran and I are thankful Dr. Amy Acton was not hurt, and we send our thoughts to those who were injured. We spoke to Dr. Acton this afternoon and she said to share with Ohioans that she is ok,” DeWine said in a social media post. “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.