Latest
Five dead after Amazon cargo plane crashes at Miami airportOhio gubernatorial candidate confronted by armed man at fairTrump to speak at both nights of RNC midterm conventionSeattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringementAssailant lunged at Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, campaign saysAt least five dead after Amazon cargo plane crashes at Miami airportPhil Schiller’s App Store exit reportedly driven by wariness over future plansFive dead after Amazon cargo plane crashes at Miami airportOhio gubernatorial candidate confronted by armed man at fairTrump to speak at both nights of RNC midterm conventionSeattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringementAssailant lunged at Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, campaign saysAt least five dead after Amazon cargo plane crashes at Miami airportPhil Schiller’s App Store exit reportedly driven by wariness over future plans
← Signal: State & Power

Armed assailant lunges at Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at campaign event

Confirmed1 source · Sep 6, 2026

Multiple people were injured when a man attacked Acton during a fair appearance on Sunday; the suspect was arrested and faces assault and disorderly conduct charges.

Armed assailant lunges at Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at campaign event
Image via The Guardian

What happened

Patrick Havas, an armed assailant, lunged at Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair on Sunday. Havas knocked down two older adults during the incident before being arrested and found to be carrying weapons. Multiple people were injured in the attack, though Acton herself was not harmed. Havas is expected to be charged with assault and disorderly conduct, according to Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.

Context

Acton is running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a November gubernatorial election. Ramaswamy has built his campaign on national name recognition, tech industry connections, and alliance with Donald Trump, and is using advertising and rallies to criticize Acton, the state's former public health director. The incident raises concerns about political violence during an election cycle, with political figures from both parties and across states denouncing the attack and emphasizing that candidates should be able to campaign without threat.