Fair Board Settles Claims Over Removal of Ashland County Democratic Committee From 2025 Fair
Corrected release says claims against Ashland County sheriff remain pending in federal court
ASHLAND, Ohio — The Ashland County Agricultural Society, commonly known as the Ashland County Fair Board, has reached a settlement with the Ashland County Democratic Committee over the organization’s removal from the 2025 Ashland County Fair.
The settlement was announced Friday, Sept. 18, in press releases provided to ACP News by attorney Marc Dann of DannLaw and Ashland County Democratic Committee Chair Heather L. Sample.
The agreement resolves the Democratic Committee’s claims against the Fair Board. Claims involving Ashland County Sheriff Kurt Schneider have not been settled and remain pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, according to a corrected release from DannLaw.
ACP News received the original release at 10:01 a.m. That version stated that the Fair Board, sheriff and Democratic Committee had all reached a settlement.
At 11:40 a.m., DannLaw issued a correction saying the original announcement had incorrectly included the sheriff. The firm clarified that only the committee’s claims against the Fair Board had been resolved.
Dispute began at 2025 fair
The controversy dates to Sept. 18, 2025, when the Fair Board removed the Democratic Committee after receiving complaints about political buttons and other materials displayed at its booth, including items critical of President Donald Trump.
That day, the Ashland County Fair posted an explanation on Facebook describing the buttons as offensive and saying the committee had been asked to close its booth for the remainder of fair week.
“The Ashland County Fair Board would like to let you know this afternoon we were made aware of offensive buttons in the Democrat booth,” the post stated. “We are a family friendly fair and do not condone this from any vendor/merchant. We apologize for those who saw the display.”
The post continued: “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 Democratic Committee subsequently filed a federal lawsuit naming the Ashland County Agricultural Society, members of the Fair Board and Schneider as defendants. The lawsuit alleged that the committee’s removal violated its constitutional rights.
Fair Board apologizes
Under the settlement, the Fair Board acknowledged that the committee did not engage in improper conduct and was exercising its constitutional right to political expression.
“The Ashland County Democratic Committee did not engage in any improper conduct at the 2025 Fair,” the Fair Board said in the statement included with the release. “They were peacefully exercising their constitutional right to political expression and should not have been removed because others objected to their message.”
The Fair Board also apologized for its decision.
“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 statement continued. “The Fair Board apologizes for this mistake.”
The board said it recognizes that protected political expression cannot be restricted because of its viewpoint or because members of the public consider the message offensive or objectionable.
Policies and training to change
As part of the agreement, the Fair Board will revise its exhibitor standards to protect political expression from viewpoint discrimination or censorship prompted by complaints from others.
Board members and personnel responsible for regulating exhibitors’ expression will also receive First Amendment training.
The Fair Board confirmed that the Ashland County Democratic Committee will be permitted to participate in future Ashland County Fairs.
Both organizations said they want the fair to remain a safe place where people with different political beliefs may participate, express their views and receive fair treatment.
“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.
Sample added that the committee does not believe the Fair Board acted with malicious intent.
“We do appreciate the Fair Board’s apology and its commitment to protecting the First Amendment rights and safety of all exhibitors,” she said.
The settlement does not resolve the committee’s claims against Schneider. According to the corrected announcement, that portion of the federal litigation remains pending.
