The brother of an armed man alleged to have attacked Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton on Sunday is a Republican political volunteer who was fired after the discovery of his sexual misconduct with a minor.
The suspect behind the attack on Acton at a fair in Ohio has been identified as 38-year-old Patrick Havas, a registered Republican.
The man “lunged at Dr. Acton, injuring multiple people” while Acton, 60, was attending the Canfield Fair in northeastern Ohio, a campaign spokesperson said in a statement. Acton was not injured and the suspect was quickly detained.
Patrick Havas’ brother, Andrew Havas, spent time in jail after being charged with sexual misconduct with a minor after an incident in 2008 involving a 15-year-old in Mahoning County, according to court records reviewed by NBC News in July.
Andrew Havas was 22 at the time of the incident, and was accused of knowing that the minor was older than 13 but younger than 16 and also of being reckless about the minor’s age. The sexual misconduct charge was reduced to a single misdemeanor assault count as part of a plea deal.
After pleading guilty to the reduced charge in 2009, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a fine.
He served his sentence in the Mahoning County jail from May to August 2009, according to records provided to NBC by the county sheriff’s office.
In July, Havas resigned from his volunteer role with Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s re-election campaign after NBC News contacted the campaign about the case.
He was named a county campaign chair in Franklin County by Husted’s campaign in December. Husted’s campaign said Andrew had not disclosed his criminal history and that it immediately accepted his resignation after learning about it.
NBC reported that Havas introduced Husted at a Christmas party last December, addressing a crowd alongside the Republican and shaking his hand. He attended at least two events as part of Husted’s campaign in June.
During Sunday’s attack, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Patrick Havas reportedly pushed through the crowd, knocking over at least two older adults.
Police found two pistols and a taser in the suspect’s possession, and he was booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault.
The Dispatch reported that after Havas was detained, Acton jumped into the crowd to help injured volunteers.
Campbell City Council member Mary Janek overheard Acton telling those gathered, “We are sick of the hatred.”
Action is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the contest to replace outgoing Republican Gov. MikeDeWine, who is term-limited.
DeWine posted about the attack on X, “Violence or the threat of violence at political or public events is always unacceptable. This case is now in the hands of law enforcement and will be investigated thoroughly.”
A spokesperson for Ramaswamy 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.”
