Prosecutor: Man accused of crimes in Acton incident didn't commit felonies

CANFIELD — Patrick Havas, who is alleged to have lunged at Amy Acton, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, during an incident Sunday afternoon at the Canfield Fair, did not commit any offenses that rise to felonies, Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said. Havas, 38, of Canfield, was arrested Sunday on two counts of assault and one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. An additional misdemeanor charge of inciting panic was added Tuesday during his arraignment in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield in front of Judge Molly Johnson. Havas, who was armed at the time of his arrest, pleaded not guilty to the four misdemeanors. Havas had been in the Mahoning County jail since his arrest after the Sunday incident. He was released Tuesday on $5,000 bond with Johnson ordering him to surrender his weapons and have no contact with Acton or the two people he allegedly pushed during the Sunday incident. During the arraignment, J. Gerald Ingram, Havas' attorney, said his client lives with his mother and isn't a flight risk. After the arraignment, Ingram declined to comment. But Maro said: "I know others thought there should have been charges related to the weapons (found on Havas). The weapons were never unholstered, removed, used, brandished in any way, utilized in this incident. Quite frankly, there were no charges under the Ohio Revised Code that would fit for simply possession of those weapons." Maro said: "Nothing rose to a felony charge in our current review. Investigations are ongoing. We're working closely with the sheriff's department and the state patrol as they gather evidence and we'll continue to do that." Maro said: "We're going to handle this case as we would handle any misdemeanor assault and inducing panic cases. Doesn't matter who you are, who you know, how much money you have, what side of town you're from or what color skin you have. This is a misdemeanor assault case and inducing panic. That's how we're going to handle this case. We're not going to let emotions take over. We're going to follow the evidence. We're going to follow the facts. That's how we're going to prosecute it." Havas entered the Democratic tent at the Canfield Fair around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, forcing his way through a crowd toward Acton, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. An OSHP statement reads Havas "knocked multiple fairgoers over while trying to get towards Dr. Acton and was found to be in possession of a taser and two pistols. Dr. Acton was unharmed during the incident." The county sheriff's office said Havas had two handguns and a set of "brass knuckles" though no weapons were ever brandished or removed from their holsters. As Havas pushed his way through the crowd, he had a cellphone out, according to the sheriff's office. Acton's security detail, which was made up of OSHP troopers, confronted Havas, and as that was happening, two people were knocked to the ground, the sheriff's office report states. Witnesses say the conflict on the taser-brass knuckles is because the alleged weapon was electrified brass knuckles. Those in the Democratic tent said Havas acted aggressively. As for a motive, Maro said: "I'm not going to speculate on piecing things together at this time. The defendant consented to a complete search of his phone. That is ongoing right now and I think that's going to be a critical component moving forward based on what's found." An initial search of Havas' cellphone for a potential motive, Maro said, shows "nothing so far. There was a search for critical terms that law enforcement typically use and they typically search for when they're conducting that risk assessment. None of those terms were found." Maro said: "The Acton camp requested individuals stop recording before this incident occurred so at this point, the only video we have is the defendant's and what that's showing certainly doesn't support filing felony charges." It is not uncommon for higher-level political candidates to request that people not record them in such settings. Maro said Havas' recording shows him "walking into the tent, recording and moving forward, calling her name and the state patrol — her security I should say, somebody in her security coming forward and then his phone is either dropped or tousled and that's all we have."Maro said Havas never had any contact with Acton and "never gets near her." Regarding the weapons found on Havas, Maro said, "At this point, they weren't used in any way, shape or form and everything he had was legal under the state of Ohio as open carry. So you never like to see weapons involved because it's easy for things to escalate, but they didn't in this case fortunately." Addie Bullock, Acton's spokeswoman, said after the arraignment: "Dr. Acton and Eric were grateful to see the rule of law upheld today and extend their continued appreciation to law enforcement for keeping Ohioans safe." After the incident, Bullock said Sunday: "While attending the Canfield Fair, an armed individual lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people. Dr. Acton and Eric are 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." Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the Nov. 3 general election. After the incident, Connie Luck, his campaign spokeswoman, said: "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 that no one was hurt."Ramaswamy posted a video to X after the incident, saying, "The first and most important thing is I am very grateful that Dr. Acton and her family are doing well. That's the most important thing and we're truly happy and relieved to hear that." Ramaswamy also praised law enforcement for "doing an outstanding job of protecting our family and Dr. Acton's." Ramaswamy said: "Political violence has no place in America, period, full stop. Vigorous debate, yes. That's important and we do need to have vigorous debate in a civil way." Since the incident, some Republicans have questioned the legitimacy of the incident even though state police and several witnesses were there. David Pepper, Acton's lieutenant governor running mate, said Tuesday: "The Ohio Republican Party and Ramaswamy's campaign allies continue to amplify dangerous misinformation from Laura Loomer, a fringe conspiracy theorist. Vivek Ramaswamy needs to condemn these malicious lies immediately." Loomer posted Monday on X: "There is no footage of the Amy Acton 'assault' at her campaign event yesterday because it is a fabrication to cover up the bad press regarding the fact that (Acton) appeared to be drunk at her own campaign events this weekend." Loomer added that Action is "trying to ruin a young white man's life for legally carrying a gun. She's a monster." Loomer also falsely posted Sunday that Havas had "already been released by police with no bail," when he was in the county jail. Luck declined to comment on Pepper's statement. Havas' only criminal conviction was a disorderly conduct conviction in 2008 after he was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and petty theft, the latter of which was dismissed. In that case, Havas was accused of stealing three videos from the Canfield Giant Eagle – "The Untouchables," "Full Metal Jacket" and "Casino Royale," court records show.