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ASHLAND — The Ashland County Agricultural Society and the Ashland County Democratic Committee have reached a settlement in the nearly year-long federal lawsuit between the parties.
The settlement was announced Friday morning by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, one of the attorneys representing ACDC. It comes just two days before the opening of the 175th Ashland County Fair on Sunday.
“The Ashland County Agricultural Society, commonly known as the Ashland County Fair Board, and the Ashland County Democratic Committee have reached a settlement resolving the Democratic Committee’s claims against the Fair Board arising from the Democratic Committee’s removal from the 2025 Ashland County Fair,” the release said.
“The claims against the Ashland County Sheriff (Kurt Schneider) remain pending in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.”
The lawsuit, originally filed in U.S. District Court by Dann on Oct. 16, 2025, stems from a Sept. 18, 2025 incident where the fair board booted Democratic representatives from the fair because of their sale and distribution of “offensive buttons” directed at President Donald Trump.
According to previous reporting, some buttons depicted a red hat with words such as “Fascist” and “Resist.” Smaller text on the button read “Is he dead yet?” and “One day, we will wake up to his obituary.”
Others also contained “8647,” a political code interpreted by some as a call to violence against President Trump. This led to Schneider contacting the U.S. Secret Service to investigate “any crimes that may be associated with (President Trump’s) safety.”
The sheriff’s office also launched its own investigation to determine whether criminal charges were merited, according to previous reporting.
“On Sept. 18, 2025, the Fair Board removed the Democratic Committee after receiving complaints about political buttons and materials displayed at its booth, including materials critical of the President of the United States,” Friday’s release stated. “The materials constituted political expression protected by the First Amendment.”
Fair board, Democratic Committee chair issue statements
A statement from the fair board was included in Friday’s announcement regarding the ACDC and its members for removing them from last year’s fair. The statement, in full, is below:
“The Ashland County Democratic Committee did not engage in any improper conduct at the 2025 Fair. They were peacefully exercising their constitutional right to political expression and should not have been removed because others objected to their message. It was not the Board’s intention to unfairly characterize the Democratic Committee’s protected political expression or cause reputational harm to the organization and its members. The Fair Board apologizes for this mistake. The Fair Board recognizes that protected political expression may not be restricted because of its viewpoint or because members of the public find it offensive or objectionable.”
Ashland County Fair Board President Martin Wesner declined further comment Friday outside of what was included in the board’s issued statement.
“As part of the settlement, the Fair Board agreed to revise its exhibitor standards to protect political expression from viewpoint discrimination or censorship resulting from others’ complaints,” the release said. “Fair Board members and personnel responsible for regulating exhibitor expression will also receive First Amendment training.”
According to the release, the fair board has confirmed that ACDC is welcome to participate in future Ashland County Fairs, including this year’s.
“The Fair Board and the Ashland County Democrats agree that the Ashland County Fair belongs to the entire community and we all want it to remain a place where people with different political beliefs can participate, express themselves, and be treated fairly in a safe environment,” the release said.
The release did not say if any financial terms were included in the settlement.
Democratic Committee Chair Heather Sample said the board’s apology was appreciated.
“This settlement restores the public record and affirms that Ashland County Democrats have the same right as everyone else to engage in peaceful political expression,” Sample said in the release. “We don’t believe the Fair Board acted with malicious intent in last year’s expulsion, we do appreciate the Fair Board’s apology and its commitment to protecting the First Amendment rights and safety of all exhibitors.”
Sample declined further comment Friday outside of the quote she included in the release.
What comes next for ACDC, sheriff?
Dann told Ashland Source a follow-up mediation conference between ACDC and Schneider is set for Sept. 22 with Magistrate Judge Jonathan D. Greenberg.
“But I’m not optimistic that we will resolve it,” he said.
If no settlement is reached between the two parties after Sept. 22, the parties can “continue to mediate, but there is no guarantee it will ever resolve,” the attorney said.
“If mediation fails, the case will proceed to trial,” Dann said. “I imagine if we are unsuccessful Tuesday that it will be sent back to the regular docket.”
Dann said while the case remains pending, he could not disclose specifics regarding the disagreements that remain between ACDC and Schneider prohibiting a settlement between the parties.
Ashland Source left messages seeking comment Friday with both Schneider and David Smith of Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis, one of the attorneys representing the sheriff.
No responses were received from Schneider or Smith by this story’s time of publication.
