Democrats were ordered to leave a county fair after they were caught selling political buttons that were adorned with messages that were perceived as threats against President Donald Trump’s life.
The Ashland County Democrat Party was told to pack up after they refused to stop selling merchandise that included the numbers “8647.” Those numbers have long been associated with code language meaning to assassinate President Trump.
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!
“We don’t condone anything of that nature at all,” Ashland County Fair President Martin Wesner told Fox 8. “I mean, there is free speech in this world, but the county fair and what we are trying to here with all the kids is not the place.”
Local law enforcement is investigating and the Secret Service has been made aware of the allegations.
“This particular incidence was a red ball cap with ‘Felon’ across the top of it and ‘Is he dead yet’ and some other innuendos about his obituary and we are referring to the president of the United States,” Ashland County Sheriff Kurt Schneider told Fox 8.
The Demcorats released a lengthy statement defending their use of threatening language and said it was nothing more than political speech – an argument that many don’t believe in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The Ashland County Democratic Party was ejected from its booth at the Ashland County
Fair yesterday, 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.
Syndicated with permission from ToddStarnes.com – founded by best-selling author and journalist Todd Starnes. Starnes is the recipient of an RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and the Associated Press Mark Twain Award for Storytelling.