Iowa reporters talk after being blocked from Ron DeSantis rally

Ty Rushing gets blocked from a Never Back Down rally. Aug. 11 2023, Harlan Iowa. Image via Kyle Kaminski

A pair of reporters from Iowa and Ron DeSantis’ super PAC have different takes on the circumstances surrounding the reporters being blocked from a rally.

Kyle Kaminski and Ty Rushing were thwarted in their attempt to cover the rally in Harlan, blocked by law enforcement and escorted off the premises, despite having press badges indicating they were part of the media.

“They said it’s a private event. They don’t want you. It is what it is,” Deputy Bill McDaniel said. “I can’t (tell you why). I don’t work for them. It’s a private event. It is what it is.”

“It’s a new one for me,” Rushing said from the road in the Hawkeye State.

He’d covered a number of DeSantis events in person, and written about a few, including his first stump speech in the state, the “slavery scandal,” and the Governor’s position on a six-week abortion ban. He had “absolutely no explanation” why he was blocked from Harlan Friday, despite being from a “left-leaning outlet.”

Rushing’s post on the social media platform X of the event, videotaped by Kaminski (who said this was an “interesting day”), showed the period where “multiple Shelby County deputies were waiting for us. They approached us before we even finished crossing the grass to the American Legion parking lot.”

From there, a staff member said, “sorry guys, it’s a private event.”

“At the last event in Atlantic, we noticed that security kept following us around when we were trying to cover the photo ops and snapped our pics as we left. Naturally, we expected something when we went to Harlan, but not armed deputies barring members of the press from covering an event that was billed as open press, according to pool reporters,” Rushing tweeted.

“I’ve covered seven DeSantis events in person with zero issues. I’ve never asked him a question at these events, just recording speeches, taking notes, and grabbing photos and videos for various content.”

For its part, Never Back Down, which put on the event in question, claims the duo registered as audience members rather than media, failing to “follow appropriate protocols.”

“These individuals registered as attendees and not press and did not identify themselves as such. Press are encouraged and welcome to attend all open press Never Back Down events but must follow appropriate protocols to ensure equal access to all reporters and safety for the principals,” the PAC said Friday afternoon.

But the removal strikes Rushing, a journalistic veteran, as an example of the PAC violating norms in Iowa.

“In 10 years of covering news in Iowa, this is the first time I’ve ever been banned from covering an Iowa Caucus event,” He said.

After we've covered nine Ron DeSantis events in Iowa with no problems, DeSantis’ team had four Shelby County deputies waiting for our reporters at his Harlan event today. They blocked our Ty Rushing, a longtime, well-respected Iowa journalist, from the event with no explanation https://t.co/4CClODEcop

— Iowa Starting Line (@IAStartingLine) August 11, 2023