Ramaswamy says he was alarmed after bodyguard faces federal drug charges

As Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy campaigns for the Republican nomination, his family’s protective security has become tied to a federal criminal case involving alleged drug trafficking through the U.S. mail, according to the Associated Press.

Ramaswamy expressed alarm about the charges involving a man who worked as the family’s bodyguard, campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said in a text message, the AP reported. The man at the center of the case, Justin Salsburey, 43, and his wife, Ruthann Rankin, were each charged late last month with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute large amounts of narcotics delivered through the mail, according to the AP account of the case.

Luck said Salsburey was employed by a private security firm hired by the Ramaswamys for protective services. She told the AP that ARK Protection Group removed him from the family’s security detail immediately after learning of the matter.

According to the criminal complaints described by the AP, 261 parcels containing counterfeit OxyContin and other pills were delivered to the couple’s western Ohio home between August 2024 and last month. The complaints link the deliveries to the alleged scheme involving the mail.

The AP reported that Rankin was also removed from her job as a schoolteacher in Urbana, citing a statement posted by the school district. Salsburey, meanwhile, was held in the Franklin County jail in Columbus, according to the facility’s website, and Rankin was held and later released.

Luck said Ramaswamy’s family takes safety seriously and supports efforts to hold the individuals accountable for the allegations “if they are proven,” according to the AP. She also said Salsburey had cleared multiple background checks run by the security company, the FBI, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation prior to his employment.

Luck further said the most recent background check was conducted by Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center in September and that Salsburey passed a pre-employment drug test. She told the AP that he never failed a random drug screening.

A message left with an attorney who represented Salsburey in the past was not immediately returned, the AP reported.