The local Ashland County Democrats in Ohio were ousted from the Ashland County Fair 2025 last Thursday because they were handing out buttons deemed in poor taste by several Republican Ashland County Sheriff deputies and three Republican Ashland County Fair board members.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
September 23, 2025
Ashland, Ohio - On Thursday, September 18, 2025, Ohio Democrats were escorted out of the Ashland County Fair 2025 by the Ashland County Sheriff's deputies, after they refused to stop handing out buttons asking, "Felon, Is he dead yet?", including other buttons saying, "One day, we will wake up to his obituary," alongside the coded slogan "8647."
The County Fair took place from September 14 - 20, 2025 in Ashland Ohio.
The Ashland County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation and the Secret Service was notified of a suspected death threat to Trump, according to Sheriff Kurt Schneider.
The Ashland County Dems were prohibited to return to the Ashland County Fair for the rest of the fair, which ended last Saturday, September 20th, according to Ashland Fair organizers.
Asking the following, Felon, is he dead yet?, is not considered a death threat, but free speech, which is just asking for an update status.
The Ashland County Fair organizers released the following statement on their Facebook (FB) page on September 18, 2025. The FB post read, "The Ashland County Fair Board would like to let you know this afternoon we were made aware of offensive buttons in the Democrat booth. We are a family friendly fair and do not condone this from any vendor/merchant. We apologize for those who saw the display. The democrat party has been asked to pack their booth up for this year so they will not be here the remaining of our Fair week. This is not political, we just can't have this at our County Fair!"
The Ashland County Democratic Party in Ohio released the following press release in regards to the incident.
A Republican County Official Silenced the Opposing Party in Ashland County
The Ashland County Democratic Party was ejected from its booth at the Ashland County Fair on, September 18th, 2025.
Three Republican members of the Ashland County fair board, backed by two Republican County sheriff deputies, ordered the Ashland County Democratic Party to leave the county fair and shut down their booth because they disapproved of Ashland Democrats criticizing the Republican administration. Deputies told the residents staffing the booth that they had to leave.
Both county parties have had booths at the county fair each year for over five decades. This is the first time county officials have ever ejected anyone from the fair for strictly political reasons.
The Sheriff told FOX News in Cleveland that he was informing the Secret Service.
This incident is not an isolated event but part of a dangerous pattern. We have seen instances of abuse of power before. Nixon kept an enemies list and attempted to use the IRS to target journalists. McCarthy dragged writers, actors, and reporters before hearings and wrecked careers with blacklists and loyalty oaths. Those were shameful chapters. However, even then, the machinery of the state was not routinely deployed to silence the chairs of opposing parties at local community events.
The use of law enforcement to suppress political speech at the local level represents a grave threat to our democracy and the foundational principle that government officials cannot use their power to punish dissent. As Senator Ed Markey warned us this week, what we are witnessing is "censorship in action."
Our party remains committed to engaging with the voters of Ashland County and fighting for the democratic principles that are under attack.
The Ashland County Democratic Party is committed to advocating for the values of fairness, equality, and opportunity for all residents of Ashland County. We work to elect Democratic candidates and engage with the community to build a brighter future for Ohio.
We hear those in our own party and those in opposition who feel those buttons were in poor taste. In retrospect, given the emotions running high in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination and subsequent scrutiny of criticism by the government, we should have thought about this more. We strongly oppose many of the policies of the Trump administration. We feel they are damaging the country. We express our ideas using our words and peaceful demonstrations. We do not and will never endorse political violence.
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