An Ohio Democratic Party booth was abruptly removed from the Ashland County Fair Thursday after officials said it displayed politically charged buttons deemed inappropriate for a family-friendly event.
Fair organizers stated they acted after noticing buttons targeting President Donald Trump.
One showed a red baseball cap labeled “felon” with the question, “Is he dead yet?” Another read, “One day we will wake up to his obituary.”
Officials stressed the decision was about maintaining a safe, family-friendly environment.
“We are a family friendly fair and do not condone this from any vendor/merchant. We apologize for those who saw the display,” the Facebook post said.
The Ashland County Democratic Party responded that the buttons were poorly considered but denied promoting violence.
“We express our ideas using our words and peaceful demonstrations. We do not and will never endorse political violence,” the party said in a statement.
The comments come amid a tense political climate following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Sept. 10 just minutes into his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
The Charlotte Observer noted that law enforcement acted quickly.
Ashland County Sheriff Kurt Schneider confirmed that the Secret Service