Judge bars gun evidence in trial of man accused of lunging at Dr. Amy Acton at Canfield Fair

CANFIELD, Ohio (WOIO) - A Mahoning County judge ruled that prosecutors cannot introduce or refer to evidence of any gun or other weapons allegedly possessed by a Canfield man during the incident in which he allegedly lunged at Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair in September, according to court records.

Court records show Judge Molly Johnson of Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield granted the motion filed by the attorney for Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield.

The order prevents the state and its witnesses from introducing or referring to any gun or other weapons Havas allegedly possessed at the time of the incident.

According to court records, Havas came into contact with two plainclothes Ohio State Highway Patrol officers during the incident.

The order states the state said some people saw weapons on Havas, but acknowledged the observation occurred as Havas was being forcefully removed from a tent, when a pistol in his belt was seen.

According to the record, the prosecution argued a witness could have panicked after seeing the gun.

Judge Johnson found that by the time a witness may have seen the gun, any perceived threat had been neutralized and it could not have caused greater panic.

She added the prosecution made no connection between the weapon evidence and assault or disorderly conduct, and that the state admitted the weapons were not utilized in the alleged offenses.

Judge Johnson wrote prosecutors can raise the weapons issue again at trial if circumstances change, but must first do so without the jury present.

RELATED: Suspect pleads not guilty after Canfield Fair incident involving Dr. Amy Acton

Records show Patrick Havas was booked into the Mahoning County Jail on two counts of assault, one count of inducing panic and one count of disorderly conduct.

Havas has plead not guilty to all four counts and is now being held on a $5,000 cash bond.

RELATED: Ohio Governor Candidate Amy Acton Helps With Medical Emergencies at Cleveland Parade

The judge has ordered Havas to have no contact with the media, victims or Dr. Acton, and for him to relinquish all firearms.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro says the Acton camp had asked people to stop recording shortly before the incident happened. That’s why, there’s limited video evidence.

They do have the video Havas took on his phone.

“It shows him walking into the tent recording and moving forward calling out her name, and the state patrolman, or security I should say, somebody in her security comes forward and then his phone was either dropped or tossed and that’s all I have,” said Maro.

Havas also gave investigators consent to search his phone and Maro says they have found nothing on the phone or in other evidence indicating any felony charges are warranted.

What Happened

Gerry Ricciutti, a spokesperson for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, said Havas walked around 2:30 p.m. into a tent for the Mahoning County Democratic Party (MCDP) and was taking cellphone video of Acton.

As Acton spoke to a crowd of people, Ricciutti said Havas pushed his way through them, knocking two to the ground.

Havas was confronted by Acton’s security detail, which included Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, and was arrested by Canfield police officers.

Ricciutti said deputies recovered two guns and a set of brass knuckles following his arrest. However, he said Havas did not use the weapons during the incident.

The highway patrol will be handling the investigation.

Background and Reaction

Havas has a criminal history including three theft charges and traffic offenses, according to court records.

“Let me be clear - The Mahoning County Democratic Party (MCDP) abhors political violence in all forms. What happened at our tent today during today’s visit from Dr. Acton is reprehensible and should be condemned by leaders on all sides of the aisle,” the MCDP chair said.

The Ohio gubernatorial race is one of the most high-profile races this year as the campaigns enter the final six weeks of campaigning before the general election in November.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine recruited Acton from Ohio State University, where she was an associate professor of public health, to lead the Ohio Department of Health in 2019. As the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in early 2020, she was thrown into the state and national spotlight — becoming a source of comfort to many viewers of the governor’s daily news conferences.

For her service as health director, Acton earned the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in COVID Courage Award, the Columbus Foundation’s Spirit of Columbus Award and Ohio State’s highest alumni honor, the Alumni Medalist Award.

But her position as the face of the DeWine administration’s aggressive stance against the virus also earned Acton many enemies, among them Statehouse Republicans and average Ohioans who opposed pandemic restrictions.

She is “grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured. This kind of violence has no place in Ohio. Dr. Acton will always stand up to the chaos, hate and vitriol that pits us against one another,” said Addie Bullock, communications director for the campaign.

Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who has parlayed his national name recognition, tech industry connections and alliance with President Donald Trump into a record fundraising haul that he is tapping for advertising spots aimed at the November election. He is using campaign rallies and advertising to criticize Acton, the state’s former public health director.

Ramaswamy called the incident unacceptable.

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

The fairground’s police department referred inquiries to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, which didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. The Ohio State Highway Patrol didn’t immediately respond to a request for information.

The incident brought condemnation from Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted, who said on X that he and his wife were “disturbed by the attempted attack on Amy Acton today at the Canfield Fair. We are grateful for law enforcement’s quick response. There is no place for this kind of behavior, and it must never be tolerated.”

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson expressed confidence in the highway patrol’s investigation and said, “The attempted violence directed at Dr. Acton is unacceptable — political violence of any kind has no place in Ohio or our nation. I am thankful she was unharmed, and my prayers are with those who were injured”

The country has seen a rise in political violence over the past decade. That includes the 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia; the 2022 hammer assault on the husband of Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California; the 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally during his presidential campaign as well as another on the president at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April; and the assassinations last year of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data is publicly available, according a report released in April from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

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Associated Press writers Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, and Kantele Franko contributed to this report.