Iowa police dispute Ramaswamy campaign's claim that protesters rammed their car

Republican statesmanlike campaigner Vivek Ramaswamy’s run claimed Thursday that protesters ran into their parked car astatine a run halt successful Grinnell, Iowa. But section constabulary aboriginal said that’s not what truly happened.

Ramaswamy’s car, with nary 1 wrong it, was struck by different car successful a parking lot extracurricular a coffeehouse. His run told POLITICO Thursday that 2 protesters deed Ramaswamy’s car, but constabulary accidental that the mishap progressive a operator unconnected to the protest.

“Our probe has revealed nary grounds to substantiate” the assertion that protesters deed Ramaswamy’s car connected intent and fled, constabulary said successful a connection Thursday night.

Instead, constabulary accidental that a pistillate had eaten luncheon astatine a deli and backed retired of a parking spot into the campaign’s rental vehicle. A study was taken and the operator was released with a summons for unsafe backing.

"[The driver] stated she was not successful the country to protest, she did not cognize who the conveyance she struck belonged to, she did not intentionally backmost into the vehicle, and she did not fly the country of the accident,” constabulary said successful a statement.

After Iowa constabulary released the connection refuting the Ramaswamy campaign’s claim, Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy’s elder adviser, posted to X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, a photograph and video of a idiosyncratic successful a car flipping disconnected Ramaswamy but not the existent collision.

“Suppose a feline wearing a MAGA chapeau is lasting amongst protestors astatine a Democrat statesmanlike candidate’s event, past gets into his car with assertive bumper stickers, flips disconnected the campaigner & screams profanities, lays connected his horn, and past reverse-rams the candidate’s parked SUV,” Ramaswamy posted connected X successful effect to the police’s statement. “I’m definite they’d beryllium conscionable arsenic anxious to telephone it an unrelated accident, right?”