An Ohio sheriff instructed residents to keep a list of homes displaying campaign signs in support of the Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Tim Walz, in remarks on social media that caused alarm.
Bruce D Zuchowski, the Republican sheriff of Portage county, posted the remarks on Friday to his personal and professional Facebook pages, warning that undocumented immigrants would arrive if Harris were elected over his party’s nominee, Donald Trump.
“When people ask me … What’s gonna happen if the Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins??” Zuchowski wrote, referring to Harris. “I say … write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!”
Referring to immigrants as “Illegal human ‘Locust’”, Zuchowski added: “We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families ... who supported their arrival!”
In the same post, Zuchowski added screenshots from several Fox News stories claiming that the Biden administration’s immigration policies were fueling a “crime wave” and “destroying small towns”.
At least two commenters said they would be collecting the addresses of neighbors who publicly supported the Democratic ticket, reported the Portager, a local newspaper for the county.
Zuchowski has since limited the ability to comment on the post. He did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.
The Fox News coverage included photos from Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, two small cities that have made national headlines after Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, spread false claims about immigrants there.
Zuchowski’s comments have received widespread backlash, including from fellow Republicans.
The Portage county commissioner, Tony Badalamenti, publicly denounced the post and resigned from the county’s Republican central committee in a video posted to Facebook, the Portager reported.
“This is not the leadership I want to be part of,” Badalamenti said.
Referring to Zuchowski’s actions, Badalamenti added: “It scares people. It’s called bullying, from the highest law enforcement in Portage county, the sheriff’s office.”
Others condemned Zuchowski’s comments as an act of voter intimidation, especially given the sheriff’s high-ranking position in law enforcement.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it had received several complaints about Zuchowski’s post from Portage county voters, Ohio-based WOSU Public Media reported.
“Over the weekend we had people reaching out saying that they did feel intimidated and that they are considering changing their – I don’t want to say changing their behavior but perhaps not putting up yard signs,” the ACLU of Ohio’s deputy policy director, Collin Marozzi, said to WOSU.
Zuchowski is running for re-election on 5 November, the same day as the presidential race. His Democratic challenger, Jon Barber, said Zuchowski’s comments could affect trust between the public and police.
“People shouldn’t be out here and be afraid that when they call police – ‘are they going to look up my voting record? Are they going to look to see if I have a sign that’s maybe supporting someone they don’t like or a point of view about something they don’t like? And they drive by instead of helping me,’” Barber said to WOSU.
