A car transporting Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds allegedly hit Black Lives Matter protester Jaylen Cavil on Tuesday after the he moved into the car’s path.
“The SUV that Gov. Reynolds was driving in drove right up to me. I was standing right in front of the car and I just stood there. I was like, ‘I’m going to stand here. Surely the driver of the governor is not going to hit me with her car. This is the governor, my governor, who’s supposed to be representing me. I’m sure that her car is not going to intentionally hit me.’ I was wrong,” Cavil said to the Des Moines Register following the incident.
The car was allegedly being driven by a member of the Iowa State Patrol, the agency said in a statement.
“As the vehicle began to turn away from the protestor and onto the roadway, the demonstrator intentionally stepped in front of the slowly moving vehicle,” per the statement.
On Tuesday following the event, Cavil expressed his frustration on Twitter with the Governor’s delay in signing the executive order to restore felon voting rights, which she plans to sign this year, the De Moines Register reported.
Let’s not forget that the reason me & my fellow @DesMoinesBLM activists were trying to speak to the governor today is because Kim still refuses to do any work on an EO to restore voting rights. Me getting hit by her car will not stop this movement. We demand justice.
— Jaylen (@jaylencavil) June 30, 2020
Cavil said he was unharmed and the statement from Iowa State Patrol said that he requested no medical attention, according to the Des Moines Register.
Cavil was among a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who met with Reynolds in her office to discuss the executive order she has pledged to sign restoring voting rights to Iowa felons who have completed their sentences, the Des Moines Register reported. (RELATED: Crowd Gathers For ‘Occupy City Hall’ Protest In New York City)