After a public outcry and under threat of legal action, a sheriff in Ohio has Social media post In it, he demanded that the addresses of people holding Kamala Harris signs should be written down so that immigrants could be sent to live with them.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican candidate for re-election, deleted a Facebook post that compared people living in the country illegally to “human locusts.” The post said Harris’ supporters should write down their addresses so that when the migrants need housing, “we already have the addresses of their new families… who supported their arrival!”

Zuchowski, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, entered the immigration debate shortly after Trump and his Republican running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, spread unfounded rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, ate pets.

The sheriff’s comment about Harris’s supporter – made on his personal Facebook account and his campaign’s account – sparked outrage among some Democrats who took it as a threat. His supporters called the reaction over the top and argued that he was making a political statement against unchecked immigration and exercising his right to free speech.

Still, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio called on Zuchowski to remove the post and threatened to sue him, claiming he made an unconstitutional, “impermissible threat” against residents who wanted to put up political signs in their front yards.

Zuchowski did not give his reasons for agreeing, but the ACLU expressed joy and declared victory.

“The threat of a lawsuit by the ACLU of Ohio, amid outrage from Portage County residents amplified by voices across the country, has apparently convinced government official Sheriff Zuchowski that the U.S. Constitution prohibits him from suppressing political speech,” said Freda Levenson, legal director of the ACLU of Ohio, in a statement.

Zuchowski was sent a message asking for a comment on his deletion of the post.

On Friday, the Portage County Election Board, citing concerns from residents, voted for the abolition of the sheriff’s office by an election security squad.

The Board of Elections said the sheriff’s office will no longer provide election security during in-person early voting at the county’s administration building, which begins Oct. 8. That responsibility will now be assumed by police in Ravenna, the county seat. The new policy will also apply in years when the incumbent sheriff is running for re-election.

Randi Clites, a Democratic member of the Board of Elections who introduced the motion, said Tuesday that the “public outcry” against Zuchowski compelled her to act. She pointed out that people who attended an NAACP meeting last week said they felt intimidated.

“It is my role and responsibility to ensure that every voter feels safe when they cast their ballot. So it was clear that something had to happen,” she said.

Amanda Suffecool, chairwoman of the Portage County Republican Party and a member of the Elections Board, voted against Clites’ motion.

“I see this as political and a real slap in the face to all Portage County officers who have worked for the sheriff’s department,” she said. She said she thought the argument that Zuchowski made a threat was “very far-fetched,” adding that “people are consciously choosing to be offended.”

In a follow-up post last week, Zuchowski said his comments had “perhaps been a little misunderstood??” He said voters could elect whoever they wanted as president, but then they would have to “take responsibility for their actions.”