Ohio sheriff deletes online post about Harris supporters and their yard signs after public outcry

[September 25, 2024]  By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

After a public outcry and under threat of litigation, an Ohio sheriff has deleted a social media post in which he said people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down so that immigrants can be sent to live with them.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican running for reelection, took down a Facebook post that likened people in the country illegally to “human locusts” and said that Harris' supporters should have their addresses noted so that when migrants need places to live, “we’ll already have the addresses of their New families ... who supported their arrival!”

Zuchowski, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, waded into the immigration debate shortly after Trump and his GOP running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, spread unfounded rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating household pets.

The sheriff's comment about Harris' supporters — made on his personal Facebook account and his campaign’s account — sparked outrage among some Democrats who took it as a threat. His supporters called that reaction overblown, arguing he was making a political point about unrestrained immigration and that he was exercising his right to free speech.

Nevertheless, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio demanded that Zuchowski remove the post and threatened to sue him, asserting he'd made an unconstitutional, “impermissible threat” against residents who wanted to display political yard signs.

Zuchowski has not said why he acquiesced, but the ACLU said it was gratified and declared victory.

“The threat of litigation by the ACLU of Ohio, amidst the outrage of Portage County residents amplified by voices across the country, apparently convinced Sheriff Zuchowski, a governmental official, that the U.S Constitution forbids his suppression of political speech," said ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Freda Levenson in a statement.

A message was sent to Zuchowski seeking comment on his deletion of the post.

In this undated photo released by the Portage County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski poses. Zuchowski, is under fire for a social media post in which he said people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses recorded so that immigrants can be sent to live with them if Harris wins. (Portage County Sheriff's Office via AP)

On Friday, citing residents' concerns, the Portage County Board of Elections voted to remove the sheriff’s office from an election security detail.

The Board of Elections said the sheriff's office would no longer provide election security at the county administration building during in-person early voting, which begins Oct. 8. That responsibility will now be handled by police in Ravenna, the county seat. The new policy will continue during years in which the incumbent sheriff is running for re-election.

Randi Clites, a Democratic member of the elections board who introduced the motion, said Tuesday she was compelled to act by the “community outcry" against Zuchowski, noting that people who packed an NAACP meeting last week said they felt intimidated.

“It is my role and responsibility to make sure every voter feels safe casting their vote. So it was clear something needed to happen,” she said.

Amanda Suffecool, who heads the Portage County Republican Party and who also sits on the elections board, voted against Clites' motion.

“I view it as political and I view it as a real slap in the face of all of the Portage County deputies that worked for the sheriff’s department,” she said. She said she views the argument that Zuchowski had made a threat as “very much a stretch,” adding that “people choose to be offended.”

In a follow-up post last week, Zuchowski said his comments “may have been a little misinterpreted??” He said voters can choose whomever they want for president, but then “have to accept responsibility for their actions.”

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