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The 2026 midterm campaign trail is turning into a security problem for candidates on the ground.
Political violence has crept back into the daily rhythm of American campaigning ahead of the November midterms, with public appearances now shadowed by threats that once seemed out of place at a county fair booth.
On Sunday afternoon in northeastern Ohio, that anxiety produced another arrest.
According to the Associated Press, a 38-year-old registered Republican from Canfield, Ohio, charged through a crowd toward Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton at the Mahoning County Democratic Party tent at the Canfield Fair around 14:30, knocking two attendees to the ground before Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers took him down.
After the arrest, deputies recovered two handguns, a set of brass knuckles, and a Taser from Patrick Havas, according to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say no weapons were ever brandished or even removed from their holsters.
Acton, a physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, was not injured. She stayed on-site to help attend to one of the people who had been knocked over.
An armed constituent with a cellphone
Havas was booked into the Mahoning County Jail on disorderly conduct and two counts of assault, local station Cleveland 19 reported.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gerry Ricciutti said Havas walked into the tent, was taking cellphone video of Acton, then “pushed his way through” the crowd, “knocking two to the ground.”
Records reviewed by Newsweek show Havas is a registered Republican and a licensed nurse whose last vote was cast in 2024. Other than fines for traffic offenses in 2008 and 2011, his only prior criminal record dates to 2008, when he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct after being accused of stealing three movies from a Giant Eagle supermarket.
He received a suspended 30-day sentence.
DeWine calls the incident ‘always unacceptable’
Republican Governor Mike DeWine, whose term ends in January, issued a statement Sunday on the confrontation.
“Fran and I are thankful Dr. Amy Acton was not hurt, and we send our thoughts to those who were injured,” DeWine said. “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable. This case is now in the hands of law enforcement and will be investigated thoroughly.”
Acton’s campaign communications director, Addie Bullock, said the candidate would keep campaigning.
“This kind of violence has no place in Ohio,” Bullock said. “Dr. Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another.”
A tight race turned tense
Acton is running against Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to succeed DeWine, who is term-limited.
The race is one of the country’s most closely watched gubernatorial contests, with both parties investing heavily in a state that has trended Republican but retains a competitive Democratic base in cities such as Cleveland and Youngstown.
Election day is set for November 3, 2026.
