Sheriff Uses Trump’s Racist Conspiracy to Threaten Harris Supporters

A local Ohio sheriff has thrown himself into electoral politics, suggesting in a social media post last week that his constituents send him the personal addresses of locals with Kamala Harris’s campaign signs in their yards.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski issued the missive on Facebook Friday, referring to the vice president as a “Flip-Flopping, Laughing Hyena.”

“I say … write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!” Zuchowski wrote. “Sooo … when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live … We’ll already have the addresses of their New families … who supported their arrival!”

The post was seemingly made in reference to a virulent conspiracy theory spread by top Republicans, including Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, about Haitian migrants eating other residents’ pets in Springfield, Ohio—roughly 200 miles away from Zuchowski’s district.

People in the area were infuriated by Zuchowski’s post, including local Republican leadership, one of whom—Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti—resigned in protest from the county’s Republican Central Committee. Badalamenti said in a Facebook video that “this is not the leadership I want to be part of.”

“[Zuchowski] posted that we should all copy down the addresses of the people that display political signs which are different from our beliefs,” Badalamenti said. “It scares people. It’s called bullying, from the highest law enforcement official in Portage County.”

Springfield shut down two of its elementary schools Monday, while two local colleges switched to all-virtual classes and activities. The city also canceled its annual CultureFest due to safety concerns.

The city saw even more closures last week. Springfield evacuated two elementary schools and closed a middle school on Friday after receiving information from the Springfield Police Division. The day before, several other schools and a significant portion of Springfield’s government facilities—including City Hall, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Ohio License Bureau, the Springfield Academy of Excellence, and Fulton Elementary School—were shut down due to bomb threats.

Multiple city officials and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine have stated in no uncertain terms that the conspiracy is false.