A few days ago, an “armed man” was arrested at Ohio Democrat gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton’s campaign event.
Acton claims that the man, whose name is Patrick Havas, “lunged” at her with a gun.
Some media outlets ran with that story and have labeled it an assassination attempt.
Take a look at some of these headlines:
NEW MEDIA HOAX JUST DROPPED
“Armed man lunged at Amy Acton!”
Reality: Prosecutor says video shows he never went near her, didn’t lunge or charge at her, and never brandished a weapon.
Amy Acton Smollet.
Every. Single. Time.
pic.twitter.com/g6CnWp1CRR
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok)
September 9, 2026
However, that false narrative started falling apart almost as soon as it was concocted.
In actuality, Havas was only arrested for knocking two people to the ground while he was pushing through the crowd.
He never “lunged” at Amy Acton, and his guns (which are legal to carry in Ohio) were safely holstered the whole time.
If you missed it, here’s our original report on the facts behind the incident:
Now, the Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro has essentially confirmed that it was all a hoax!
Citing video of the incident, Maro told the court during Havas’ arraignment that he entered the campaign tent to ask Amy Acton a question.
He started moving through the crowd while calling Amy’s name and recording with his phone before her security detail intercepted him.
He had no weapon in his hand, and there was no physical contact.
In fact, he
“never got near her.”
Fox News reported:
The man who allegedly stormed toward Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton at a recent fair will not face felony charges, the county prosecutor leading the case told reporters Tuesday.
The only video investigators currently have of the incident was recorded by the suspect, Patrick Havas, leaving authorities with little video evidence, Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said.
“The information we’ve received is that the Acton camp requested individuals stop recording shortly before this incident occurred,” Maro told reporters on Tuesday.
“So, at this point, the only video we have is the defendant’s. And what’s that showing certainly doesn’t support filing felony charges.”
Patrick Havas was intercepted by Ohio Highway Patrol officers after allegedly knocking over multiple fairgoers as he ran toward Acton at a tent at the Canfield Fair while armed with a taser and two firearms.
He was initially booked on two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. An inducing-panic charge was added Tuesday at his arraignment, bringing the total to four misdemeanor counts. Havas pleaded not guilty.
Maro said the tape showed Havas “walking into the tent” where Acton was, and “calling out her name” before executive protection unit officers from Ohio Highway Patrol interrupted him.
“Then, his phone is either dropped or tossed, and that’s all we have,” Maro said.
“There’s never any close contact with the governor, never gets near her — sorry, ‘candidate for governor’,” she added.
Watch what the prosecutor had to say for yourself here:
At this time, the footage that Maro referenced in that clip has not been released to the public.
The suspect, Patrick Havas, is pleading not guilty to misdemeanor charges, and his bond has been set at $5,000.
Despite the prosecutor confirming that this was not an attack or an assassination attempt, Amy Acton appears to be doubling down on her claims.
NBC News shared a statement from Amy Acton’s campaign spokeswoman:
Acton and her husband were “grateful to see the rule of a law upheld” and are appreciative to law enforcement, said Addie Bullock, spokeswoman for the Acton campaign. The campaign’s statement went on to criticize Acton’s opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to condemn fringe conspiracy theorists and falsely calls Dr. Acton a socialist in one breath while calling for Ohioans to use the 2nd Amendment against socialism in the next,” Bullock said. “This is who Vivek Ramaswamy is: a liar, a scammer and Ohioans cannot trust him to fight for our state.”
A Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson, Connie Luck, said Sunday that 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,” Luck said.
In light of everything we know, some folks have taken to referring to Amy Acton as “Amy Smollet” — since she appears to be taking a page out of the Jussie Smollett hoaxster playbook.
Check out a few of these replies:
LOL … Jussie Smollett on steroids.
https://t.co/kmOpDYmnVz
— Catturd
(@catturd2)
September 8, 2026
I think the whole thing was planned…. Just like the dude who threw “vinegar” on Ilhan Omar.
https://t.co/ctZ7PjNXtw
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut)
September 9, 2026
First Jussie, and now her, Smollett is going to become the new term for hoaxes and lying.
— MaxPeepo (@max_peepo)
September 9, 2026
They all lie. Just like the last fake attack on Omar at her news conference.
It is all a charade.
No one will do anything. No one ever is held accountable
— Limited Everywhere (@LimitedEver12)
September 9, 2026
Your thoughts?
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
