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Vivek Ramaswamy heckled at campaign event in Ohio over controversial ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother
The incident comes amid mounting criticism of a 60-second campaign ad, which features Amy Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying
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Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was confronted by a heckler during a campaign event on Tuesday over a campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.
Footage circulating on social media showed the heckler shouting at Ramaswamy before police escorted him out of an event at CrossPointe Church in Westerville, Ohio, as per a report by Newsweek. Some of the man's words are not audible in the video clips but he can be heard yelling, “Why did you run the ad with Amy Acton's mother!”
Ramaswamy remained relatively calm and responded as police moved over to the disruptor to remove him. “Sir! Excuse me. Excuse me. You're gonna leave this room if you're gonna do that. Sir. Sir. If you want to be patient and you want to ask a question at the end, you'll be free to do that,” he said.
The incident came amid mounting criticism of the 60-second campaign advertisement, which features Acton’s estranged mother, Donna Arthur, accusing her daughter of lying and urging voters not to elect her governor in November.
The advertisement has drawn criticism from political figures and commentators, who have questioned the campaign’s decision to bring Acton’s deeply personal family history into the gubernatorial race.
In the advertisement, Arthur says she loves her daughter but accuses her of misrepresenting her past and making false claims about her Republican opponent. “She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She’s lied her entire life,” Arthur says in the ad.
“My daughter needs help, and she can’t help you if she needs help herself,” she adds, urging Ohio voters not to support Acton.
The controversy centres on Acton’s childhood and her estrangement from her mother. Acton and her brother, Philip Stearns, were separated from Donna Arthur after Acton alleged that their stepfather, Cledith Arthur, raped her when she was 12.
Cledith Arthur was arrested and faced charges in Ohio but was never convicted before his death in Pennsylvania in 2004. Donna Arthur remained married to him, while Acton and her brother were placed in the custody of their biological father, Gerald Stearns, who had reported the alleged abuse to police.
Vivek Ramaswamy defends campaign ad
Responding to criticism, Ramaswamy defended the advertisement, saying he wanted the gubernatorial contest to focus on issues affecting Ohio residents. He accused Acton of avoiding substantive policy discussions and said her record and statements about him and his family warranted scrutiny.
“It is an ad from our campaign. I would love for this race and this election to be about the substantive issues that impact Ohioans,” Ramaswamy said, as per a report by Newsweek.
“Unfortunately, Amy Acton has been hiding from those issues. She won’t debate me. She doesn’t allow cameras at her events,” he added, arguing that the advertisement was part of a broader pattern of scrutiny of Acton’s statements.
(Also Read: Amy Acton's mother Donna Arthur's custody loss of her children back in focus amid Vivek Ramaswamy ad)
Amy Acton responds to advertisement
Acton addressed the controversy in an interview with Spectrum News, saying she won't debate the ad and called for a stop on "normalizing this sort of rhetoric."
“I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is ‘something I’m just complaining about,’ who today, just released an ad using my birth mother, who I was removed from at the age of 12 for severe abuse and neglect and sexual abuse,” Acton said.
“The words our leaders use matter and I think it’s gonna take courage right now from all of us to stop normalizing this sort of rhetoric,” she added.
Her brother, Philip Stearns, also condemned the advertisement, referring to their family’s history and their mother’s decision to remain married to Cledith Arthur after the siblings were removed from their custody.
“This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core — a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants,” Stearns said.
The controversy comes as the two candidates compete ahead of November’s gubernatorial election. A Marist poll released on October 20 showed Acton leading Ramaswamy by seven percentage points.
