A sheriff’s office in Ohio has launched a criminal investigation and contacted the Secret Service after buttons criticizing President Donald Trump were found at a county fair. On Thursday, complaints were made to the Ashland County Fair board regarding buttons that were seen as threatening towards the president.
The buttons, distributed by the Democratic Party, featured graphics of red caps similar to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats, paired with Harris-Walz 2024 campaign buttons. One button displayed a hat with the word “FELON,” accompanied by the question, “IS HE DEAD YET?” Another read “FASCISM,” with the phrase, “One day, we will wake up to his obituary.”
Ashland County Sheriff Kurt Schneider confirmed that the situation is under investigation. In an interview, he expressed, “Violence shouldn’t be tolerated in any way, in any venue, in any jurisdiction in the United States, and it certainly won’t be tolerated here in Ashland County.” The sheriff has referred the incident to the Secret Service for further action.
The fair board publicly apologized to attendees who encountered the buttons, stating, “We are a family-friendly fair and do not condone this type of content from any vendor or merchant.” They ordered the Democratic Party booth to be closed and informed them they would not be allowed to participate for the remainder of the fair.
The Democratic Party reacted to the incident in a statement, claiming that three Republican members of the fair board, assisted by two Republican sheriff deputies, forced them to leave due to their criticisms of the Republican administration. They noted that this was the first instance in over fifty years where a party was removed from the fair for political reasons.
The statement characterized the ejection as “part of a dangerous pattern” and an “abuse of power,” emphasizing that using law enforcement to suppress political speech poses a significant threat to democracy. They acknowledged the remarks on the buttons might have been poorly timed, particularly following the recent assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The Ashland Democratic Party concluded by asserting they do not endorse political violence.
