An Ohio sheriff prompted concern after he directed residents on social media to list homes displaying campaign signs in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
Portage County Republican Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski posted the comment on his personal and professional Facebook pages on Friday, warning that undocumented immigrants would arrive if Harris was elected over his party's nominee, Donald Trump.
“When people ask me … what happens if the flip-flopping, laughing hyena wins??” Zuchowski wrote, referring to Harris. “I say … write down the addresses of all the people who had signs of hers in their yards!”
Referring to the immigrants as “illegal human 'grasshoppers'”, Żuchowski said: “We would already have the addresses of their new families … who supported their arrival!”
In the same post, Zuchowski added screenshots of several Fox News stories claiming the Biden administration’s immigration policies were fueling a “crime wave” and “destroying small towns.”
At least two commenters said they would collect the addresses of neighbors who publicly supported the Democratic ticket, the Portage, the county's local newspaper, reported.
Zuchowski has since limited his ability to comment on this post. He did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment.
Fox News coverage included images from Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, two small cities that have been in the national spotlight as Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance spread false claims about immigrants there.
Zuchowski's comments have drawn widespread criticism, including from fellow Republicans.
Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti publicly denounced the position in a video posted on Facebook and resigned from the county's Republican Central Committee, The Portage reported.
“This is not the leadership I want to be a part of,” Badalamenti said.
Referring to Zuchowski's actions, Badalamenti said: “That scares people. That's called intimidation, coming from the top law enforcement officer in Portage County, the sheriff's office.”
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Others denounced Zuchowski's comments as an act of voter intimidation, especially given the sheriff's high position in law enforcement.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it had received multiple complaints from Portage County voters about Zuchowski's posts, Ohio-based WOSU Public Media reported.
“We had people contact us over the weekend saying they felt intimidated and they were considering changing their behavior — I don’t want to say they’ll change their behavior, but maybe they won’t put up a yard sign,” Colleen Marozzi, deputy policy director for the ACLU of Ohio, told WOSU.
Zuchowski is running for re-election on Nov. 5, the same day as the presidential race. His Democratic opponent, John Barber, said Zuchowski's comments could hurt trust between the public and police.
Barber told WOSU, “People shouldn't come here and be afraid that when they call the police — 'Are they going to look at my voting record? Are they going to see if I have a sign that maybe supports somebody they don't like or a viewpoint about something they don't like? And they move on instead of helping me.'”