Armed individual lunges at Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee during fair, campaign says

By Gregory Clary, CNN

(CNN) — An “armed individual” allegedly lunged at Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton on Sunday and injured multiple people at a fair in Canfield, according to a spokesperson for her campaign and an eyewitness.

“While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people,” Acton spokesperson Addie Bullock said in a statement. “Dr. Acton and Eric are grateful for the swift and decisive action of law enforcement and are praying for the recovery of those injured.”

The individual is expected to face two charges of assault and one count of disorderly conduct after two older adults were knocked down during the incident, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene told CNN affiliate WFMJ. The extent of injuries to those knocked down isn’t clear.

Greene said law enforcement found two firearms on the individual and appeared to be holding a phone or camera during the incident.

With political violence in the country an increasing concern, news of the alleged attack rippled through social media on Sunday, with commenters expressing both anger and relief that the incident wasn’t worse.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly from Arizona, whose wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt after meeting with constituents in 2011 said he spoke to Acton on Sunday and called her, “tough.”

“There’s no place in our society for political violence. An issue that unfortunately Gabby and I are very familiar with. I want to thank law enforcement for stopping this attack. Perpetrators of political violence must be brought to justice,” Kelly said in a social media post.

The person, whose identity has not been made public by police officials, after knocking multiple volunteers to the ground as Acton visited the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s tent, according to party chair Chris Anderson.

“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,” Anderson said in a statement on social media.

CNN has reached out to the Acton campaign, Canfield Police Department and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s department for more details.

Former Democratic Rep. John Boccieri, who had been standing in the tent, told CNN that a very “large individual, white male, came barreling through the tent, and started pushing people to the ground as if he was trying to rush her.” He had been holding a phone camera up, Boccieri noted.

Two elderly adults standing in front of Acton were knocked to the ground in the rush, and one of them appeared to fall and hit his head on the table right in front of her, Boccieri said. Acton’s security team apprehended the alleged attacker, he said, and was taken away by police.

Boccieri said he helped pick up the individual who had seemingly hit his head and Acton began “assisting and administering care” to him, before her security team returned and escorted her out of the tent.

This incident comes in an era of political violence with multiple assassination attempts on President Donald Trump over the last few years and near the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

Acton, the former director of Ohio’s Department of Health, is running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a closely watched race for the governor’s office.

Ramaswamy’s campaign denounced the incident in a statement on Sunday evening.

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

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said he was thankful Acton wasn’t hurt and condemned the act of violence.

This incident comes in an era of political violence with multiple assassination attempts on President Donald Trump over the last few years and near the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

This has been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s David Wright and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.