CLEVELAND—Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers assigned to executive protection details will get broader arrest authority across the state beginning Sept. 17.

Under current Ohio law, troopers working an authorized security detail have the same arrest powers as other peace officers anywhere in the state when someone threatens or endangers the person or state property they are protecting.

That limitation disappears Sept. 17.

Under the new version of the law, the Highway Patrol superintendent and troopers providing security as part of the executive protection unit will have the same arrest powers as other peace officers “no matter where the offense occurs.”

Their authority will exist alongside that of local police, sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers with jurisdiction where an offense occurs. It will not replace local authority.

The change is part of Senate Bill 273, the same law that will expressly add major-party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to the Highway Patrol’s protection framework. It has new relevance after troopers protecting Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton intervened Sunday as Patrick Havas approached her at the Canfield Fair.

But the broader arrest authority was not in effect Sunday.

A partial report from the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, says Havas pushed through the crowd and knocked two elderly people to the ground. The report is heavily redacted, however, and the department has refused to release body camera footage of the incident.

Troopers protecting Acton grabbed Havas as he approached. Canfield Fair police had detained him by the time Mahoning County sheriff’s deputies arrived.

That distinction is important. Current law already gives troopers on security details statewide arrest authority when the person or property they are protecting is threatened or endangered.

Police said Havas was carrying two pistols and a stun gun but did not brandish them. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two counts of assault, one count of inducing panic and one count of disorderly conduct. A court set a $5,000 bond and ordered him not to possess a gun while the case is pending, according to cleveland.com and news partner WKYC.

What changes Sept. 17

The Highway Patrol already has law-enforcement authority on Ohio highways, state property and in certain emergencies. Senate Bill 273 specifically broadens the authority troopers have while working executive protection details.

Instead of limiting their statewide arrest authority to an offense that threatens or endangers the person or property they are protecting, the new law allows them to exercise the same arrest powers as other peace officers for criminal offenses regardless of where the offense occurs.

The Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s analysis describes the change similarly: Highway Patrol jurisdiction for executive protection details expands to allow troopers to apprehend offenders against criminal laws regardless of location.

The authority applies while the superintendent or troopers are providing security as part of the executive protection unit. It is not a blanket expansion of arrest powers for every Highway Patrol trooper at all times.

Provision added during House review

The arrest-power expansion was not part of Senate Bill 273 when the measure initially moved through the legislature.

The bill originally focused on voluntary firearm storage. An LSC analysis dated June 4 still contained only those provisions. By the time House Finance reported the bill June 9, lawmakers had added candidate protection, the executive protection unit and the broader arrest authority.

The House passed the amended bill June 9. The Senate agreed to the House changes June 10, and Gov. Mike DeWine signed it June 18. The official legislative history lists Sept. 17 as the effective date for most of the law.

The executive protection unit covers more than campaigns. The law also provides for protection involving the governor, lieutenant governor, governor-elect, lieutenant governor-elect, certain other officials and visiting dignitaries and designated state property. The patrol superintendent decides how many troopers are assigned to particular details.

Acton and Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy already have Highway Patrol details that Gov. Mike DeWine ordered after the May 2026 primary, as cleveland.com reported Tuesday.

Those details are already operating. What changes Sept. 17 is the breadth of the arrest authority troopers have while working them.

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