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An Ohio sheriff set off a firestorm after posting a message about Vice President Kamala Harris and her supporters.

Amid the ongoing headlines about the tens of thousands of Haitian migrants who have descended on the city of Springfield, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski took to social media to issue a warning of sorts, igniting backlash from residents and other Democrats calling for his termination.

“When people ask me…What’s gonna happen if the Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins??” Zuchowski wrote on Facebook, referring to Harris. “I say….write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!”

“Sooo…when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live…We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families…who supported their arrival!” he continued in the post reportedly shared on his personal and public Facebook accounts.

According to his bio on the Portage County Sheriff’s Office website, Zuchowski served in law enforcement for nearly 30 years and has been sheriff in Portage County since 2021. His post prompted many locals to file complaints to state and federal agencies, as well as reach out to members of Congress and the ACLU.

(Video Credit: WKYC Channel 3)

In a video posted to Facebook, Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti blasted the sheriff and resigned from the county’s Republican Central Committee.

“This is not the leadership I want to be part of,” he said.

“Sheriffs are elected officials who have a duty to serve ALL members of the community. They are sworn to protect the public from intimidation and oppression,” noted the Portage County ACLU of Ohio Action Team. “For the sitting sheriff of Portage County to be engaging in this type of behavior he’s meant to combat is despicable. Putting out a political sign is most decidedly protected core First Amendment speech.”

Residents spoke with media outlets about their fears about having their Harris yard signs visible.

“Why would I want to put something in my yard to be targeted for,” resident David Lendvay told WEWS. “I should be able to vote for who I want to vote for without my safety being violated.”

County GOP Chairperson Amanda Suffecool defended the sheriff who is up for re-election this year.

“If he’d have been just boring, no one would be talking about this, so this puts it front and center,” Suffecool told WEWS. “Is illegal immigration, illegal? And do people within the county, within the state, care about it? And indeed they do.”

“We are seeing the news say ‘It’s not an issue, it’s a nonissue,’” she added, speaking of the controversy in Springfield which is about 200 miles away from Portage County.

(Image: Screengrab WEWS)

“There’s a lot of people who are saying, ‘How did they even know to fact-check it before it was brought up,’” she said, referring back to the ABC News moderators in the presidential debate last week who pushed back when former President Donald Trump cited reports of Haitian migrants in the town eating pets.

“Anything that goes out into the light of day and gets talked about is good for us,” the GOP chair said in defense of creating media attention over controversial topics. “It’s good for our politics. It is good for our citizens to discuss things and understand where everybody stands.”

Asked specifically about racist claims on the contents of the sheriff’s post, Suffecool said, “He called her a laughing hyena, so there’s no racist statement in that,” adding, “We’ve always had caricatures in politics.”

“Is this something that you should be fearful of? No,” she added. “He took artistic license, got some attention.”

Frieda Powers
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