ACKLEY, Iowa (AP) — An SUV carrying Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hit a Black Lives Matter protester who was trying to block the vehicle Tuesday as she was leaving an event in northern Iowa.
The Iowa State Patrol confirmed the SUV hit the protester, who was among about two dozen Black Lives Matter activists who had traveled 90 miles from Des Moines to Ackley.
Jaylen Cavil, a Black Lives Matters organizer, told the Des Moines Register that he stood in the driveway in the hopes that Reynolds would roll down a window and talk with protesters.
Troopers in the patrol’s executive protection unit typically drive the governor to and from events, but patrol spokesman Sgt. Alex Dinkla didn’t immediately confirm that a trooper was driving the SUV.
Black Lives Matter activists have been protesting outside Reynolds’ office and attending events in hopes of pressuring her to quickly sign an executive order ending Iowa’s status as the only state that automatically revokes felons’ voting rights.
