Ramaswamy says angry protesters rammed his car in Iowa; police say no evidence crash was intentional

Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign alleges that two protesters, who were evidently angered by the Republican presidential candidate’s statements against providing aid to Ukraine, deliberately collided with his car in Iowa as an act of retaliation on Thursday. However, law enforcement authorities assert that there is no substantiating evidence to support the contention that the collision was intentional.

The police’s account of the incident in Grinnell, central Iowa, sharply contrasts with the narrative presented earlier by Ramaswamy’s campaign. The campaign had asserted that protesters had verbally abused the candidate, and at least one of them had jumped into a vehicle, rammed into his unoccupied campaign car, and quickly fled the scene.

Ramaswamy’s campaign affirmed that there were no injuries and reported the incident to the police.

According to the police report, officers were dispatched to a local coffee shop shortly after 1 p.m. following a report of property damage. While there, they spoke with a 22-year-old woman who explained that she had just finished lunch at a nearby deli. As she was reversing her car out of a parking space, she accidentally collided with a Ford Expedition parked across the street.

The woman informed the police that she was not involved in any protests, had no knowledge of whose vehicle she had struck, did not intend to cause the collision, and did not leave the scene. Law enforcement authorities maintain that there is no evidence to validate the claim that protesters intentionally targeted Ramaswamy’s campaign vehicle and fled.

Both vehicles sustained minor damage, and the woman received a traffic summons for unsafe backing.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, asserted that the driver was indeed a protester and reaffirmed that there were two individuals in the vehicle that collided with the campaign car. She expressed confidence in her account of the incident.

A resident of Grinnell with the same name as the driver did not respond immediately to a message from The Big Big News seeking comment.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur and author of “Woke, Inc.,” was in Grinnell for a scheduled interview with the local CBS News affiliate in Des Moines before proceeding to host a family campaign event with a fall theme. Campaign aides stated that Ramaswamy intended to proceed with the event.

While the candidate travels with some private security, further details were not disclosed. He does not have a Secret Service detail.

McLaughlin had messaged the AP earlier in the day, stating, “Prior to the protestors ramming their car they continually laid on the horn, flipped staff off and screamed expletives (it appeared in efforts to create commotion.)” She continued, “It seemed like the protestor couldn’t stay at the event or didn’t want to and wanted to make a statement. (Though I can’t assign motivations.) The driver began to drive off but stopped suddenly after staffers chased after to get insurance information.”

Ramaswamy recounted the incident in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He wrote, “Had a civil exchange with protestors today, right before two of them then got into their car & rammed it into ours. Those two should be held accountable, but the rest of the peaceful protestors shouldn’t be tarred by the behavior of two bad actors.”

Subsequently, Ramaswamy sent out a fundraising email detailing the crash, requesting supporters to “stand for free speech” and contribute to his campaign.

Grinnell, a small city east of Des Moines, is home to Grinnell College, a small liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students in Poweshiek County.

Ramaswamy is not the first candidate whose campaign vehicle has been involved in an accident during this election season. In July, his rival Ron DeSantis was part of a multi-car accident near Chattanooga, Tennessee, while en route to a campaign event. The Florida governor emerged unharmed from the incident, which occurred as traffic on Interstate 75 abruptly slowed during the busy morning commute, resulting in a chain reaction involving state-owned vehicles.

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