RAVENNA, Ohio — Voters in Portage County, Ohio, are wary of putting up political signs in their yards after a Facebook post by the county sheriff that many saw as intimidating and racist. A law enforcement official wrote that citizens should take down the addresses of Kamala Harris supporters so they can welcome immigrants — or, as he said, “human locusts.”
With about 50 days left before the presidential election, many residents of Northeast Ohio County, an area that initially supported former President Barack Obama and now former President Donald Trump, are concerned about a social media post by Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski.
On the evening of September 13, Zuchowski posted an entry on his private and professional Facebook pages.
“When people ask me… What happens if Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena wins?? I say… write down all the addresses of the people who had her posters in their yards!” he wrote.
Now, community members admit they are hesitant to show public support.
“Why would I put something in my garden that could be targeted?” Ravenna resident David Lendvay said on Monday.
Lendvay said he will no longer fly a “Kamala Harris for President” banner. Sheila Longmire won’t do the same.
“He writes on Facebook that he wants to know the addresses of everyone who supports her,” Longmire said. “That’s crazy.”
They both say their county sheriff is trying to intimidate them.
This is worrying for Lendvay.
“I should be able to vote for the person I want to vote for without risking my safety,” he said.
Zuchowski, a Republican running for re-election, followed up his popular tweet with, “So… when the illegal human “Locusts” (which she supports!) need a place to live… We’ll already have the addresses of their modern families… who supported their arrival!”
This language terrifies Longmire, a black woman.
“Do I have to fear for my life because I’m talking to you?” she said. “That’s crazy because I have a different skin color.”
We reached out to Zuchowski and the sheriff’s office but have not heard back. County GOP Chairwoman Amanda Suffecool sat down with us to defend her point of view.
“If he was just boring, no one would be talking about it, so this brings it to the forefront,” Suffecool said. “Is illegal immigration illegal? And do people in the county, in the state, care about it? And they do.”
She cited a situation in Springfield, Ohio, as an example of the attention it’s getting. The city has been grappling with chaos since right-wing activists and candidate Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance falsely said Haitian immigrants in the city were eating cats and dogs.
“We see messages saying, ‘This is not a problem, this is not a problem,’” she added. “There are a lot of people who say, ‘How did they even know to check this before it was brought up,’” she said.
Vance was asked by CNN if he knew that claims that Haitian immigrants eat pets are false.
“If I have to create stories that will make the American media actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’ll do,” Vance said, adding that he was “creating an American media that focuses on that.”
She agreed with JD Vance’s rhetoric that drawing attention through an extreme post could assist a larger cause.
“Anything that comes out and is being talked about is good for us,” the GOP chairman said. “It’s good for our politics. It’s good for our citizens to be able to discuss issues and understand where everyone stands.”
Gov. Mike DeWine and Springfield’s mayor continue to insist that the Haitian people are there legally. Yet the city has struggled with disorder—at least 33 bomb threats, unwarranted domestic surveillance, and false accusations.
We asked Suffecool specifically about comments he made about the vice president and immigrants that dozens of viewers found to be racist.
“He called her a laughing hyena, so there’s no racist statement in that,” she said. “We’ve always had caricatures in politics.”
The people of Ravenna told us that this in itself is racist.
However, Suffecool said it was not voter intimidation but just a way to start a conversation.
“Is that something you should be afraid of? No,” she added. “He took artistic liberties, drew attention to himself.”
Local officials on both sides of the barricade are outraged by the situation and Suffecool’s response.
According to Tony Badalamenti, a Republican county commissioner, Zuchowski cannot be held accountable in any way for spreading fear in the county.
“We have no authority,” Badalamenti said. “No commissioner has any authority over any other elected official.”
Attorney General Dave Yost is the only person who can make a change when a sheriff breaks the law or needs to be “held accountable,” he said. We reached out to the attorney general’s office but did not hear back.
But Badalamenti told us he was making a personal decision. He was stepping down from his role on the GOP Central Committee — a position he had served in with Zuchowski.
“When someone says something that was said on Facebook for everyone to be proud of, that’s very disturbing,” he said. “That was the final straw — that I just decided to leave.”
All of Badalementi, Longmire and Lendvay now plan to vote for the Democratic candidate running against Zuchowski – former Stark County Sergeant Jon Barber.
We met Barber in front of his house in Kent, Ohio. In addition to his own sign, he had a Harris/Walz sign. His Back the Blue flag hung on his house.
“The temperature of politics right now, both nationally and locally, is pretty high — and I really think as elected officials, it’s our job to try to bring that temperature down,” Barber said. “It’s about saying to people, ‘Look, you have a right to have an opinion, but it has to be expressed in a respectful way, not in a threatening way.’”
Lendvay added that this must be done in a way that does not violate their privacy.
“The primary concern should be the safety of the residents of this county, not publicly attacking them for who they vote for,” the resident added.
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