Two protestors in Iowa rammed their car into Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s SUV this afternoon after a conversation with the candidate, reported the Daily Mail‘s Katelyn Caralle on X.
Ramaswamy wasn’t in the car at the time, Caralle said.
“Had a civil exchange with protestors today, right before two of them then got into their car & rammed it into ours,” Ramaswamy commented on X. “Those two should be held accountable, but the rest of the peaceful protestors shouldn’t be tarred by the behavior of two bad actors.”
Caralle posted a video of an exchange with protesters before the crash, outside a coffee shop called the Saints Rest Coffee House in Grinnell, Iowa.
“What’s it like being the punching bag of the RNC?” one protestor asked Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy, who rose quickly from zero percent in the polls since announcing to compete for second place with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), has been a frequent target of the other candidates in the Republican presidential primary race during the first two debates this year.
“Well I think the RNC’s corrupt and I think both political parties are pretty corrupt,” Ramaswamy replied.
“My mom’s a public school worker and she deserves to be paid and respected,” one protestor called out to Ramaswamy.
“I think every person deserves to be respected but we are failing to do right by our kids … the beauty of this country is that you all have the right to express your opinions, and you’re doing it peacefully, and even though I disagree with you I’m proud of you for expressing your views,” Ramaswamy answered. “Thank her for her service for me. I really mean that.”
The Grinnell Police Department confirmed to the Daily Dot that there had been a “property damage crash” earlier around the area of the Saints Rest Coffee House and that nobody had been injured.
Caralle reported that the estimated repair cost for each vehicle would be $600.
