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The traditional Labor Day weekend launch to the home stretch of intensive fall political campaigning got off to a rocky, disturbing and intolerable start in the Mahoning Valley this weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, an assailant reportedly charged toward the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, during her campaign stop at the 180th Canfield Fair, injuring visitors before he was subdued by state troopers, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Though at least two people suffered minor injuries from the stampede, Acton thankfully was unhurt.
Patrol members and Mahoning County sheriff's deputies swiftly and professionally subdued the assailant. Patrick Havas, a 38-year-old from Canfield, was promptly arrested, charged with assault and disorderly conduct, and taken straight to the hoosegow. If convicted, he should be subject to the harshest penalties possible.
In the immediate aftermath of the disturbance, we join others in saluting troopers and deputies for their success in preventing a rude, disturbing altercation from potentially snowballing into something far worse. As Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in the immediate aftermath of the melee, "Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable."
The intruder was carrying brass knuckles and two handguns. Thankfully, neither the guns nor the knuckles were ever brandished during the disturbance, and Havas faces no specific weapons charges. Ohio law, after all, permits individuals to carry concealed weapons legally on county fairgrounds throughout the state.
That's why no one should hold fair managers or directors in any way responsible for Sunday's disturbance by one individual amid a crowd of about 75,000. If anything, the prompt response by law enforcement illustrates that fair officials have successfully put a premium on air-tight security at the fairgrounds. Later that night, according to reports, about 15 Canfield police officers, 20 sheriff's deputies, and K-9 units using drones proved their mettle once again by locating and apprehending a group of teenagers from Warren who reportedly fired a gun near the fair on Fairground Boulevard shortly after its closing Sunday.
As for Sunday afternoon's fracas, it is indeed encouraging that representatives of all political stripes have promptly condemned it. Political figures as diverse as conservative U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, to ultraliberal California Gov. Gavin Newsom have publicly denounced the actions of one clearly depraved hooligan.
Even the campaign of Acton's Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy, who coincidentally also attended the fair Sunday to meet and greet supporters, was quick to denounce the scuffle. "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," Ramaswamy's communications director, Connie Luck, said in a statement.
Looking ahead to the eight weeks before the Nov. 3 election, the campaigns of Acton, Ramaswamy and all others in heated and neck-and-neck races should commit themselves to proving that noble goal. They can do so by working to defuse any and all tensions that often trigger unacceptable hostilities, mayhem and yes, sometimes violence.
As a start, campaigns should better monitor and tone down some of the aggressive, acidic, misleading and over-the-top rhetoric and advertisements.
In the governor's race, the Acton campaign and its supporters have labeled Ramaswamy such unseemly epithets as scam artist, conman, huckster and swindler. The campaign of Ramaswamy and his supporters have been vicious in some of its promotions, including insinuations that Acton has had a drinking/drug problem and was singly responsible as health director for the shutdown of the state amid the deadly spread of COVID-19 six years ago. On that latter point, DeWine has repeatedly countered that he -- and only he -- made the unpopular decision to close schools, businesses and agencies during the height of the pandemic.
The overarching goal, however, for all candidates must be engagement in informative, productive and respectful campaigns focusing on the positives of their platforms, not on exaggerated or perceived or downright false invectives against their challengers.
Such overheated rhetoric only fans the flames of potential violence and mayhem. As this nation also marks the first anniversary of the chilling assassination of respected conservative activist Charlie Kirk this week, it is an apt time to double down on the need for engineering civil, respectful and honest political campaigns.
Priority No. 1 for such campaigns must remain total condemnation of any and all forms of political intimidation and violence -- period.