New reporting from Raw Story this morning uncovered a donation to Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy from well-known Islamophobe, Peter Zieve. Zieve has a long track record of engaging in disgusting anti-Muslim behaviors and statements.
The Ramaswamy campaign refused to answer questions on whether or not the donation would be returned to Zieve.
Busted: Vivek Ramaswamy campaign took money from a notorious Islamophobe
Alexandria Jacobson
Key Takeaways:
- Peter Zieve, CEO and founder of aerospace company Electroimpact, gave $250 to Ramaswamy’s Vivek 2024 campaign committee on May 28, according to Federal Election Commission records.
- Zieve’s company was required to pay $485,000 in 2017 as part of a consent decree with the Washington state attorney general’s office after a yearlong investigation found Electroimpact violated state law with discrimination based on religion and marital status.
- The consent decree barred Zieve from most hiring decisions and required the company to train its employees about discrimination laws, update its nondiscrimination and harassment policies and diversify its workforce.
- Zieve reportedly expressed hatred of Muslims in emails to employees, used photographs to screen out potential employees who appeared as if they might be Muslim and organized efforts to stop the construction of a mosque. He also replied to jokes about killing Muslims with a smiley face.
- Zieve also gave financial incentives to workers who married and had children. In an email cited in the complaint, Zieve said, “I note that 381,000 terrorist savages have gotten into Europe so far this year and if we don’t make more babies the light will go out on civilization,”
- In 2020, Zieve launched a direct mail campaign called “Preserve Mukilteo,” proclaiming that low-income housing in the small Washington state city “could bring in crime and drugs” and “crush the value of your home.”
- During Trump’s first two runs for president, Zieve gave generously to Trump-related political entities, including $13,800 directly to Trump’s presidential campaign and $1 million to the Rebuilding America Now PAC, a super PAC that supported Trump in 2016, according to the PAC’s website.
- The Ramaswamy campaign did not respond to Raw Story’s requests for comment as to whether the campaign would keep the Zieve donation.
Published: Sep 1, 2023 | Last Modified: Sep 5, 2023