After a public outcry and under threat of a lawsuit, an Ohio sheriff has message on social media in which he said that people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down so immigrants can move in with them.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican running for re-election, deleted a Facebook post that compared people in the country illegally to “human locusts.” He said the addresses of Harris’ supporters should be recorded so that when migrants need a place to live, “we have all the addresses of their new families … who supported their arrival!”

Zuchowski, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, jumped into the immigration debate shortly after Trump and his Republican running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, spreading unfounded rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, ate pets.

The sheriff’s comment about Harris’ supporters — made on his personal Facebook account and his campaign account — outraged some Democrats who saw it as a threat. His supporters called the reaction over the top, arguing he was making a political point about unrestricted immigration and exercising his right to free speech.

Nevertheless, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio demanded that Zuchowski remove the pole and threatened to sue him, alleging that he had made an unconstitutional, “impermissible threat” to residents who wanted to put up political yard signs.

Zuchowski did not say why he agreed, but the ACLU said it was pleased and declared victory.

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

A message was sent to Zuchowski requesting comment on his removal of the post.

On Friday, the Portage County Board of Elections issued a statement addressing residents’ concerns. voted to eliminate the sheriff’s office of an election security team.

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

Randi Clites, a Democratic member of the election board who introduced the motion, said Tuesday that she was compelled to take action because of the “community outcry” against Zuchowski. She noted that people who attended an NAACP meeting last week said they felt intimidated.

“It is my role and responsibility to make sure that every voter feels safe casting their ballot, so it was clear that something had to be done,” she said.

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

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

In a follow-up post last week, Zuchowski said his comments “may have been misinterpreted a little bit?” He said voters can choose who they want as president, but then “have to accept responsibility for their actions.”