PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – A sheriff in Portage County, Ohio, is being criticized for encouraging his Facebook followers to keep tabs on community members who support Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.
In posts he shared Friday from two separate accounts, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski wrote that he tells people to “write down” the addresses of Harris supporters for future reference. He then suggests sending undocumented immigrants — whom he referred to as “locust” — to those homes.
“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! 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 wrote.
Zuchowski did not use the vice president’s name in his post, but included screengrabs of a Fox News broadcast which mentioned Harris.
Zuchowski uses the pages to update residents on community events, crime and his political fundraisers. But he also uses one of the pages — specifically, the one under “Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski” — to publicize his political beliefs and opinions. (His other page just reads “Bruce Zuchowski.”)
When asked, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office told Nexstar’s WJW that neither page is an official county account. The one under “Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski” is his personal campaign account, the office added.
The sheriff’s office declined an interview.
Nexstar’s WJW did, however, did get an interview with current Republican Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti, who felt it was “ignorant” to post such a message on Facebook, even if it wasn’t under an official county account.
“I just thought it was pretty ignorant. Once it goes on Facebook, nobody really cares where it came from. If it’s you, it’s you,” Badalamenti said.
Badalamenti also resigned as the Republican representative of the Portage County Central Committee, citing Zuchowski’s post as the reason.
“Everyone has their own thought process on how they should represent their party. I disagree with that behavior.”
Also speaking with WJW was former U.S. Marine and current Portage County resident William Lane, who expressed disappointment on a personal level.
“I took an oath to the Constitution to protect all of those foreign and domestic. That had nothing to do with party. It’s the same oath that Bruce (Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski) took.”
Also denouncing Zuchowski’s comments were the Ohio affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who called his posts “despicable.”
“Sheriffs are elected officials who have a duty to serve ALL members of their community,” the ACLU of Ohio wrote on X. “They are sworn to protect the public from intimidation and oppression. For the sitting sheriff of Portage County to be engaging in the very type of behavior he’s meant to combat is despicable.”
Some of Zuchowski’s critics have also filed complaints with the Justice Department, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
“That sort of doxxing, sanctioned by a gun-toting man with a badge, is downright scary,” one county resident wrote in their complaint, according to the outlet.
Zuchowski has been sheriff in Portage County since 2021 and has served in Ohio law enforcement for nearly three decades.
