Heckler Goes Ballistic on Vivek Ramaswamy Over Controversial Ad Featuring Opponent’s Estranged Mom

Screenshot via @ethanclynne on X

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was brutally heckled over a controversial ad featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s estranged mother calling her daughter a “liar,” despite a documented history of abuse and neglect in the family.

Bipartisan backlash erupted this week over the video featuring Donna Arthur accusing her daughter of lying about her troubled childhood and urging Ohio voters not to support her.

Though it remains unclear who funded the ad, many blamed Ramaswamy and his supporters. His campaign did not deny responsibility, instead dubbing Acton a “serial fabulist.”

The Democratic candidate has spoken publicly for years about the abuse and neglect she suffered as a child, including sexual abuse by her stepfather. She told Spectrum News that she and her brother, Philip Stearns, were removed from Arthur’s custody when she was 12 “for severe abuse and neglect and sexual abuse,” and that she hasn’t spoken to her mother since.

Stearns condemned Ramaswamy for allegedly “platforming their estranged and abusive mother,” calling the attack a “despicable low.”

On Tuesday, Ramaswamy took the stage at a town hall near Columbus, where an angry protester confronted him almost immediately, according to CNN reporting and footage shared by Ethan Lynne, a communications staffer for Acton’s campaign.

Audience members were still settling into their chairs when a man near the front of the crowd stood up. While audio from the footage doesn’t completely pick up all of the man’s shouts, both the phrase “Amy Acton’s mother” and references to “rape” that the Democrat endured as a child were clearly audible.

“She was 12 years old!” he screamed as fellow attendees stood up to film him.

“Sir!” Ramaswamy attempted to interject. “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.”

A police officer made his way over to the heckler, apparently escorting him out of the venue.

Watch above on X.

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