Disorderly conduct

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers assigned to executive protection details will gain broader statewide arrest authority beginning Sept. 17, under a provision added to Senate Bill 273. Currently, troopers on protective assignments can make arrests statewide only when the person or property they are guarding is directly threatened. The new law removes that limitation, giving them the same arrest powers as other peace officers "no matter where the offense occurs," alongside — not replacing — local law enforcement.

The change gained attention after troopers protecting Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton intervened when Patrick Havas approached her at the Canfield Fair; Havas was later charged with assault, inducing panic and disorderly conduct and pleaded not guilty. That incident occurred under the current, narrower law, before the expanded authority takes effect.

Senate Bill 273, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in June, also formally extends Highway Patrol protection to major-party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. Acton and Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy already have Highway Patrol details assigned after the primary.

Democratic Ohio gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton was unharmed after an armed man attacked her Sept. 6 at the Canfield Fair near Youngstown, her campaign said. The suspect, identified as Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield, forced his way toward Acton inside a local Democratic Party tent before being intercepted by Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers on her protective detail. Multiple fairgoers were knocked over in the struggle, and two people were injured. Havas was found carrying two pistols, brass knuckles and a Taser, though no weapons were brandished; he was jailed on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault. Authorities are seeking cellphone footage as the investigation continues.

The attack drew bipartisan condemnation, including from Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy and outgoing Governor Mike DeWine, though some conservative commentators and the local sheriff, a Ramaswamy endorser, downplayed the incident. Acton returned to the trail the next day at a Cleveland Labor Day parade with heightened security, thanking first responders as fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown denounced political violence. The episode underscores rising tension in Ohio's toxic, closely watched governor's race between Acton and Ramaswamy.