Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP presidential contender, alleges that a pair of demonstrators, incensed by his remarks opposing assistance to Ukraine, deliberately collided with his vehicle in Iowa as a form of reprisal. Nevertheless, law enforcement officials have refuted this assertion, contending that the evidence presented fails to substantiate the assertion of a deliberate collision.
The occurrence transpired in Grinnell, Iowa, where Ramaswamy had an appointment for an interview with a regional news station. The American businessperson’s campaign asserted that demonstrators engaged him in verbal confrontation before one of them entered a vehicle, intentionally collided with his unoccupied campaign car, and then swiftly departed. Additionally, they confirmed that no injuries were sustained, and an official police report was lodged.
The law enforcement narrative stands in stark contrast to Ramaswamy’s campaign’s description of events. According to the police, they were summoned to a nearby coffee shop in response to a property damage complaint.
At the scene, they encountered a 22-year-old woman who explained that she had inadvertently backed her car into a Ford Expedition as she was departing a nearby deli after lunch. She maintained that she had no involvement in any protest, was unaware of the owner of the vehicle she had struck, did not purposefully instigate the collision, and did not leave the accident scene.
The police discovered no proof supporting the assertion that demonstrators deliberately crashed into Ramaswamy’s campaign car and then left the scene. Both vehicles sustained minor damage, and the woman was issued a traffic citation for unsafe backing.
Tricia McLaughlin, the spokesperson for Ramaswamy’s campaign, insists that the driver was indeed a protester and contends that two individuals were in the car responsible for colliding with the campaign vehicle. She expressed her unwavering confidence in her recounting of the incident.
On his social media platform, Ramaswamy personally recounted the event, portraying it as a peaceful encounter with protesters prior to the alleged collision involving two of them and his vehicle. He urged responsibility to be placed on those responsible for the collision while emphasizing that the actions of a few should not lead to unwarranted judgment of peaceful protestors.
In spite of the police’s statement contradicting the initial assertion, the Ramaswamy campaign maintains its original account that protesters deliberately collided with their vehicle. They shared a 15-second video clip displaying an individual in a blue Honda making an offensive gesture toward Ramaswamy before the collision. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the video does not capture the actual collision or any threatening conduct preceding it.
