An Ohio sheriff called on residents to write down the addresses of neighbors who have expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
In a Facebook post, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski wrote, “When people ask me…What’s gonna happen if the Flip – Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say…write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards!”
He added, “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!”
Zuchowski duplicated the incendiary post targeting Harris supporters and immigrants on his personal Facebook page, attracting commenters who were supportive of the idea.
“Absolutely!! Making a list and checking it twice,” one poster responded. Another wrote, “100% Agreed !!! I’m with you on that one Sheriff.”
Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti condemned Zuchowski’s post and resigned from the county’s Republican Party committee in response.
“This is not the leadership I want to be part of,” he said in a video announcing his decision.
County residents told The Portager, a local news outlet, that Zuchowski’s statement has made them fearful.
“My parents are elderly and have been very politically active Democrats. I am afraid for them now. I don’t want to scare them or suggest they take down their signs, but I am sick to my stomach with worry,” one woman told the outlet.
In a statement, the Portage County NAACP said, “Encouraging people to keep addresses, presumably so they can later be targeted, is counter to bringing all of us together to better our community. We encourage all citizens to vote their values in November.”
Zuchowski’s posts were accompanied by screenshots from the Fox News Channel blaming Harris and the Biden administration for “destroying small towns” and fueling a “migrant crime wave” by pursuing “open borders” policies, a false accusation.
Fox News has frequently promoted immigration falsehoods, and as catalogued by Media Matters for America, the network aired a marathon 400 segments promoting the “migrant crime” claim during a 10-week timespan in early 2024.
Zuchowski backed Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s successful 2022 Senate campaign and has expressed his support for Donald Trump in numerous social media posts. In one post, Zuchowski said that it was a “total ‘political’ psycho circus act’” to convict Trump in criminal court. The sheriff also expressed outrage in 2021 when the Cleveland Indians baseball team changed their name to the Cleveland Guardians in a move toward racial sensitivity.
In July, Zuchowski called on Ohio Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes to withdraw a bill that would have created federal training for police officers to help them de-escalate dangerous situations.
Zuchowski’s latest post echoes calls from Trump to use the power of government to go after his political rivals.
Following his criminal conviction on multiple felony counts, Trump told supporters in June, “It’s a terrible, terrible path that they’re leading us to, and it’s very possible that it’s going to have to happen to them.”
Trump also previously said that if elected he would appoint a prosecutor to “go after” President Joe Biden and his family.
About 190 miles southwest of Portage County, residents of Springfield, Ohio, have had to deal with bomb threats against school and government buildings after Trump and Vance promoted smears of Haitian migrants there, falsely accusing them of stealing and eating domestic animals.
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