An armed man forced his way toward Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, during an appearance at the Canfield Fair, according to reports headlined by outlets across the spectrum. CNBC headlined it "Assailant lunged at Democratic candidate for Ohio governor Amy Acton at fair, campaign says". Fox News headlined it "Pistol-packing man knocks over fairgoers forcing his way toward Ohio governor candidate Amy Acton, police say". ABC News headlined it "Armed man charged toward Democratic candidate for Ohio governor at fair, law enforcement says".
Some outlets framed the episode in starker terms, describing an attack on the candidate during the campaign stop. Al Jazeera English headlined it "Armed assailant attacks Ohio Democratic candidate during campaign stop". Bystanders were knocked over and injured as the man pushed toward Acton.
The man was identified as Patrick Havas. According to an incident report cited by one outlet, he never brandished a weapon during the encounter. NBC News reported: "Havas never brandished a weapon during the incident, the incident report said."1
An account relayed by Boccieri described Havas shouting for Acton and, once restrained by the State Highway Patrol and a security detail, saying he only wanted to ask her a question. ""He was yelling, ‘Dr. Acton! Dr. Acton!’" Boccieri said. "And when the State Highway Patrol and the security detail grabbed him, he said, ‘I was just trying to ask a question."", NBC News said.
A separate quote addressed how close the man actually got to the candidate, stating there was never any close contact with her. ""There's never any close contact with the governor, never gets near her — sorry, ‘candidate for governor’," she added.", Fox News added.
When online commentary suggested the Acton campaign had overstated the incident, DeWine was reported to have dismissed the notion as total garbage. Fox News stated: "When asked by an NPR reporter about online conjecture that the Acton team "2overblew" the incident, DeWine reportedly replied the idea is "2total garbage."
Havas was arrested and, according to later reporting, ultimately avoided felony charges after a prosecutor reviewed the evidence in the case.
