Governor Reynolds during an event in Steamboat Rock.
The state trooper driving the governor’s SUV Tuesday hit a Black Lives Matter activist who stood in front of the vehicle in an attempt to speak with Govenror Reynolds.
Jaylen Cavil tweeted that he’s “physically okay” and was hoping Reynolds would roll her window down and speak with the two dozen protesters. The group traveled 90 minutes north of Des Moines to protest outside some of the governor’s events yesterday.
A spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol told The Des Moines Register preliminary reports from the scene indicate Cavil intentionally stepped in front the moving vehicle and was not hurt.
The protesters have been urging Reynolds to sign an executive order by July 4th that would automatically restore voting rights to released felons. The governor has said she intends to make the move in time for the November election, but has no set timeline when the order on felon voting rights may be issued.
Iowa governors, by law, are not to drive themselves and state troopers are assigned to the task. The law was passed after Governor Dan Beardsley died when the car he was driving crashed into a truck in 1954.