In 2023, Vivek Ramaswamy accepted a $250 donation from Peter Zieve, who had a history of racist and discriminatory actions. In 2016, Zieve was accused of spreading anti-Muslim propaganda to block the construction of a mosque in a Seattle suburb through the distribution of anonymous postcards. In 2017, Zieve’s company, Electroimpact, settled a large lawsuit against them for anti-Muslim practices. Zieve perpetuated anti-Muslim practices at his company like discrimination against applicants based on the name or picture. Zieve was also part of an email list that featured anti-Muslim statements.
Zieve said he found it “disgusting” people were not having children, claiming that otherwise the country would be filled with “the desperate and criminal populations of the third world.”
HEADLINE: “Busted: Vivek Ramaswamy Campaign Took Money From A Notorious Islamophobe” [Raw Story, 9/1/23]
2023: Ramaswamy Accepted A $250 Campaign Donation From Peter Zieve, CEO And Founder Of Electroimpact. According to Raw Story, “A prominent Washington state business owner with a history of discrimination against Muslims and unmarried people has donated to billionaire Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 campaign. 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 reviewed by Raw Story.” [Raw Story, 9/1/23]
2016: Peter Zieve Was Accused Of Inciting An Islamophobic Campaign Against The Construction Of A Mosque In The Seattle Suburb Of Mukilteo Through Anonymous Postcards Mailed To Residents. According to BuzzFeed, “The president of a large aerospace-engineering company in Washington state said he plans to publicly apologize after being accused of inciting Islamophobia in an effort to block the construction of mosque. Peter Zieve, a supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign who founded Electroimpact Inc., a top supplier for Boeing and Airbus that has received more than $5.3 million in contracts from the U.S. government, was outed last week as the person behind an anonymous postcard that was mailed to residents of the wealthy Seattle suburb of Mukilteo.” [BuzzFeed, 8/21/16]
Local Muslims Said Zieve’s Postcard Mailer Was “Public Promotion Of Anti-Muslim Bias.” According to BuzzFeed, “The implication that the mosque would somehow introduce dangerous elements to the city riled local Muslims, who called the mailer a ‘public promotion of anti-Muslim bias.’” [BuzzFeed, 8/21/16]
Zieve Defended His Actions As A Form Of Freedom Of Speech. According to BuzzFeed, “Zieve defended his actions, telling the Puget Sound Business Journal that the mailers were a form of freedom of speech. He also blamed the local media for fanning the controversy.” [BuzzFeed, 8/21/16]
2017: Zieve’s Company, Electroimpact, Paid $485,000 To Settle A Lawsuit Against Them For Anti-Muslim Practices. According to USA Today, “A Washington state aerospace company whose CEO refused to hire Muslims, replied to jokes about killing them with smiley faces and who told employees they must have babies to keep American from being ‘backfilled with rubbish from the desperate and criminal populations of the third world’ agreed Thursday to pay a civil rights settlement of $485,000, according to state attorney general Bob Ferguson. The settlement with Electroimpact over its ‘outrageous’ conduct is the largest ever in Washington state history, Ferguson said.” [USA Today, 3/24/17]
Zieve Discriminated Against Applicants Whom He Believed To Be Muslim Based On Their Name, Picture, Or National Origin. According to USA Today, “According to the complaint, Zieve asked for a photo of all job applications and then screened out anyone who said they were Muslim or who he believed to be Muslim based on their name, photograph or national origin.” [USA Today, 3/24/17]
Zieve Was Involved In An Electroimpact Email List That Featured Many Anti-Muslim Statements. According to USA Today, “The complaint quoted a ‘jokes’ email list run by Electroimpact that featured many anti-Muslim statements. One example was, ‘How do you save half the Muslims? Kill the other half.’ On May 6, 2015, Zieve emailed an employee a smiley face emoji after the employee sent out an email that read, ‘The winning drawing at the ‘Draw Mohammad’ art contest in Garland, Texas’ and attached an image of a chalk outline of a dead body.” [USA Today, 3/24/17]
Zieve Said He Found It “Disgusting” That People Were Not Having Children, Which He Claimed Would “Allow Our Wonderful Country To Be Back-Filled With Rubbish From The Desperate And Criminal Populations Of The Third World.” According to USA Today, “In an email from Feb. 6, 2015, Zieve wrote that, ‘When [our sons and daughters] choose to not repopulate and allow our wonderful country to be back-filled with rubbish from the desperate and criminal populations of the third world[,] I find that to be disgusting and I find those persons to make these decisions to be repulsive and I don’t like them around me.’” [USA Today, 3/24/17]