Questions emerge about Canfield Fair incident involving Amy Acton after man charged with misdemeanors, given $5,000 bond
Questions have emerged about what happened at the Canfield Fair in Mahoning County when a man was arrested after a purported interaction with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton.
In its initial statement on Sunday, Sept. 6, the Acton campaign said “an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people.” State officials, including Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Andy Wilson, quickly condemned the attack, as did Acton’s Republican challenger Vivek Ramaswamy.
Patrick Havas, 38, was arrested and charged with four misdemeanors: inducing panic, disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. He had a Taser, two pistols and brass knuckles on him, but he did not brandish them.
He has pleaded not guilty, and his bond was set at $5,000.
“He appeared in that tent wanting to ask questions,” Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro told the judge during a hearing, the Associated Press reported. “You should know law enforcement gained consent for them to have complete access to his cellphone so they found no threats.”
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Ohio prosecutor just confirmed that the man who "attacked" governor candidate Amy Acton (D) NEVER GOT NEAR HER
"He walks into the tent RECORDING, and calling out her name. Her security comes forward, and his phone is dropped — that's all we have." 🤯
SHE LIED… pic.twitter.com/a621M1e3Rx
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 9, 2026
Since the statement, the media has largely used the campaign language to say a man “lunged” at Acton. However, a new revelation from the Mahoning County prosecutor paints a different picture of the incident.
“The information we’ve received is that the Acton camp requested individuals stop recording shortly before this incident occurred,” Maro told reporters on Tuesday, according to various news sources. “So, at this point, the only video we have is the defendant’s. And what’s that showing certainly doesn’t support filing felony charges.”
“It shows him walking into the tent, recording, and moving forward, calling out her name, and … somebody in her security comes forward, and then his phone is either dropped or tossed, and that’s all we have,” Maro added. “There’s never any close contact with [Acton].”
Investigators haven’t released Havas’ footage since it’s part of an ongoing investigation.
“All he got out was Dr. Acton, Dr. Acton,” Maro told reporters.
Acton’s campaign has responded by issuing a statement from Lieutenant Governor candidate David Pepper complaining about conspiracy theorists online, specifically that Republicans were amplifying “dangerous misinformation from Laura Loomer, a fringe conspiracy theorist.” It hasn’t, however, amended the language in their initial statement.
“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence,” Connie Luck, communications director for the Ramaswamy campaign, said in a statement.
The Canfield Fair incident happened a day after The Blade newspaper in Toledo blasted Acton, the state’s former public health director, who quit amid the COVID-19 pandemic, for declining to debate Ramaswamy.
“Dr. Acton raises serious doubt about her ability to not only handle the pressure of those big decisions but also to use the bully pulpit of her office to build public support for her proposals,” the newspaper wrote in its op-ed. “If Amy Acton doesn’t have the skill set to handle a debate, she should never have run for governor of Ohio.”
