Police Contradict Ramaswamy's Claim in Iowa Crash

Vivek Ramaswamy and his aides said Thursday that protesters angry about the Republican candidate's stance on Ukraine aid intentionally rammed a campaign vehicle and took off, but police in Iowa said their investigation "revealed no evidence to substantiate" the claim. An unoccupied Ford Expedition being used by the campaign was hit by a Honda Civic outside a coffeehouse in Grinnell, a small city east of Des Moines, around 1pm Thursday, the Des Moines Register reports. Police said a 22-year-old local woman who had eaten lunch at a deli backed out of a parking spot into the vehicle. She was issued with a summons for unsafe backing. There was minor damage to both vehicles but no injuries.

The woman "stated she was not in the area to protest, she did not know who the vehicle she struck belonged to, she did not intentionally back into the vehicle, and she did not flee the scene of the accident," police said. Ramaswamy's campaign said protesters yelled and swore at the candidate before jumping in the vehicle, the AP reports. Ramaswamy mentioned the incident in a fundraising email later Thursday, asking supporters to help him "stand for free speech." Campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin says the campaign still believes the driver was a protester. She said video shows the driver honking and flipping off Ramaswamy, though the campaign doesn't have footage of the collision.