An Ohio sheriff ordered residents to keep a list of homes displaying campaign signs supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, and his comments on social media sparked concern.

Bruce D. Zuchowski, the Republican sheriff of Portage County, posted the remarks on his personal and professional Facebook pages on Friday, warning that the arrival of illegal immigrants would occur if Harris were elected instead of his party’s candidate, Donald Trump.

“When people ask me… What will happen if the jumping, laughing hyena wins??” Zuchowski wrote, referring to Harris. “I say… write down all the addresses of the people who had their signs in their yards!”

Zuchowski described immigrants as “illegal ‘locusts’,” adding: “We already have the addresses of their new families… who supported their arrival!”

In the same post, Zuchowski included screenshots from several Fox News reports claiming that the Biden administration’s immigration policies are fueling a “crime wave” and “destroying small towns.”

At least two commentators said they were collecting the addresses of neighbors who publicly supported Democrats, reported the Portager, a local county newspaper.

Zuchowski has since restricted the ability to comment on the article and did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.

Fox News’ coverage included photos from Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, two small towns that made national headlines after Trump and his running mate JD Vance made false claims about immigrants there.

Zuchowski’s comments drew widespread criticism, including from his Republican colleagues.

Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti publicly condemned the post and resigned from the county’s Republican Central Committee in a video posted on Facebook, the Portager reported.

“This is not the leadership I want to be part of,” Badalamenti said.

Regarding Zuchowski’s actions, Badalamenti added, “It scares people. It’s called bullying, and it’s called bullying by the highest law enforcement agency in Portage County, the Sheriff’s Office.”

Others condemned Zuchowski’s comments as an act of voter intimidation, especially given the sheriff’s high position in the police force.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said it had received several complaints about Zuchowski’s mail from Portage County voters, Ohio-based network WOSU Public Media reported.

“Over the weekend, people reached out to us saying they felt intimidated and that they were thinking about – I don’t want to say change their behavior, but maybe stop putting up signs,” Collin Marozzi, deputy political director for the ACLU of Ohio, told WOSU.

Zuchowski is running for re-election on November 5, the same day as the presidential election. His Democratic challenger Jon Barber said Zuchowski’s comments could undermine trust between the public and the police.

“People shouldn’t be out here afraid that if they call the police, they’re going to wonder, ‘Are they going to check my voting record? Are they going to check to see if I have a sign that maybe I’m supporting someone they don’t like or an opinion on something they don’t like? And they’re going to drive by instead of helping me,'” Barber told WOSU.