Vivek Ramaswamy family bodyguard arrested on drug trafficking charges

• Updated: Jan. 08, 2026, 5:59 p.m.
• |Published: Jan. 08, 2026, 1:08 p.m.

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• Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio—A bodyguard for the family of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been arrested on charges of drug trafficking.

Justin Salsburey, a 43-year-old resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, was arrested along with his wife, Urbana schoolteacher Ruthann Rankin, on Dec. 30, according to WSYX-TV.

Prosecutors say the couple were mailed 261 suspected drug parcels between August 2024 and December 2025.

In one parcel, investigators found 119 pills of blue counterfeit OxyContin pills that tested positive for fentanyl, according to the criminal complaint against Salsburey.

Investigators let a second parcel be delivered, after which then saw Salsburey and Rankin put objects on their porch that were picked up by multiple people, the complaint stated. One of the people, Tristan Aulds of Belle Center, Ohio, later told authorities that he purchased Adderall from the couple for $5 per pill.

Salsburey also mailed dozens of packages to an address in Middlesburg Heights, one of which was found to contain pills that tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine, prosecutors say.

When law enforcement searched the couple’s house, they found 264 grams of blue pills, 938 grams of orange methamphetamine pills, and 19 grams of orange MDMA pills, along with other suspected controlled subtances and steroids, according to the complaint against Rankin.

After Rankin’s arrest, she told investigators that she believed the blue pills were “benzos” and that the orange pills that tested positive for methamphetamine were Adderall, a commonly prescribed (but tightly controlled) drug for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Rankin said her husband started selling steroids and progressed into selling other drugs, according to the complaint.

Salsburey and Rankin have each been charged with conspiracy to distribute or intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to federal court records.

Salsburey was a member of the security team assigned to protect Ramaswamy‘s family, campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck said in a statement.

The private security firm that hired Salsburey, ARK Protection Group, immediately removed him from the Ramaswamy family’s security detail, Luck stated.

Before Salsburey was hired, he cleared multiple background checks conducted by the security company, as well as FBI and state background checks, most recently conducted by Ohio State University Medical Center last September, Luck stated.

In addition, she said, Salsburey passed pre-employment drug screenings and random drug testing while working for the firm.

Ramaswamy and his family were “alarmed to hear this disturbing news,” Luck said.

“Vivek and his family take matters of safety seriously and support efforts to hold these individuals accountable for these allegations if they are proven,” she said.

ARK Protection Group owner Ron Gazboda, in a statement, said Salsburey is no longer employed by his security firm.

“While we do not discuss specific security protocols for any of our clients, prior to this incident, we were not aware of any issues concerning this individual that would impact the safety of our clients or the public,” Gazboda stated.

Ramaswamy, a 2024 presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur, lives in suburban Columbus with his wife and two young sons.

A campaign spokeswoman for Amy Acton, the Democratic frontrunner for governor, declined comment Thursday.

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