Political violence is a real danger

Labor Day weekend has long served as the unofficial start to the fall campaign season. Unfortunately, Ohio's political season got off to an ominous start at the Canfield Fair on Sunday, when an armed man rushed toward Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor, as she was speaking to supporters. The man, identified as 38-year-old Patrick Havas, allegedly pushed his way through the crowd, knocking people to the ground. Fortunately, he was subdued by law enforcement, including members of Acton's protective detail from the Ohio Highway Patrol. Exactly what motivated Havas or what he was trying to accomplish remained unclear Tuesday, but Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene appeared to downplay the incident when talking to a New York Times reporter. "I think it was to ask her a couple of questions," Greene said. "He was just, you know, pretty aggressive about it." The Washington Post noted that Greene was a supporter of Acton's Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy. (Reporting found that Havas was a registered Republican and appeared to be related to a former volunteer with the reelection campaign of U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Upper Arlington. Husted's campaign cut times with the volunteer after learning he had a criminal record.) Perhaps Havas only wanted to ask questions, but, according to accounts of the incident, he was willing to use force to get close to Acton. The potential for greater violence was there. Law enforcement reported that Havas was armed with two guns, a taser and brass knuckles, none of which are necessary to ask questions of a political candidate. (Law enforcement said that Havas didn't brandish any of the weapons. He was, however, apparently recording video with his cell phone.) Thankfully, Acton wasn't injured and those who did sustain injuries weren't seriously hurt. Acton, a medical doctor who famously led the Ohio Department of Health during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, helped some of those who were injured. She also returned to the campaign trail the same day, heading for an event in Lorain. Although Acton didn't give a speech at the Lorain County Labor Fest as previously planned, she did meet with local Democratic Party officials and supporters. A Post reporter who was covering her campaign Sunday reported Acton had said in Lorain that she had been talking about divisiveness when Havas rushed toward her. "This is why I'm running," she said. "I literally was saying this is why I was running." There is no doubt that American politics has grown increasingly divisive over the past decade. That divisiveness has been amplified not only on social media, but also in the often-heated, sometimes violent rhetoric of politicians and others who too often decry their political opponents as enemies to be defeated rather than fellow Americans with whom they disagree. The horrifying result has been an increase in political violence. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has been the target of multiple assassination attempts, including one in 2024 in which he was shot in the ear. Charlie Kirk, a conservative commentator, was gunned down while speaking on a college campus last year. Also last year, man set fire to the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence while Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and his family were inside. A few months later, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were assassinated at their home. The same assassin also wounded a Democratic state senator and his wife. That assassin had a list of other potential targets, including U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, who represents the Erie County side of Vermilion. It was in this environment that the armed Havas rushed toward Acton, something that would terrify any reasonable person. Fortunately, the condemnations of Havas' actions were swift, including from Republicans. "Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable," outgoing GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said in a news release. "Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence," Connie Luck, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy's campaign, said. Such a broad rejection of political violence is necessary, but it also is incumbent upon politicians to temper their rhetoric so as not to inadvertently inflame passions to the point of violence. Already, the Ohio gubernatorial campaign has devolved into political mudslinging of the first order. And, while Sunday's incident might lead to a brief toning down of the rhetoric, it will no doubt increase in volume again as the campaign season wears on. We'd like to say that we could be certain that what happened Sunday will be the only instance of political violence we'll see between now and November. Unfortunately, whether in Ohio or elsewhere, there's a good chance that it might happen again. That should worry us all.