Ohio’s closely watched governor’s race was jolted this week by the arrest of a man assigned to protect Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s family, after federal authorities charged him and his wife with serious drug trafficking offenses involving fentanyl and other illicit substances.
Justin Salsburey, 43, who worked as a bodyguard through a private security firm contracted by Ramaswamy’s family, was taken into custody on Dec. 30 along with his wife, Ruthann Rankin.
According to jail records and court documents, a search of the couple’s home uncovered a significant cache of illegal drugs, including pills containing fentanyl, methamphetamine, MDMA, and various steroids. Some of the substances were allegedly concealed inside containers normally used for nicotine pouches.
A spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign said the family was alarmed by the news and stressed that Salsburey was immediately removed from the security detail once the allegations came to light. The campaign emphasized that the bodyguard had cleared multiple background checks before being hired, including screenings conducted by federal and state authorities and a recent review tied to employment at Ohio State University Medical Center in September 2025.
The security firm, the spokesperson added, also requires drug testing both before employment and on a random basis, and Salsburey had never failed a screening.
Federal investigators began looking into the couple in November 2025, when postal inspectors in Columbus received information from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office suggesting the pair were receiving bulk narcotics through the mail. An affidavit filed by a U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector states that investigators identified 31 parcels sent to the couple’s home between August 2024 and December 2025.
The postage for the packages was allegedly purchased using cryptocurrency, a method authorities note is commonly associated with transactions involving darknet marketplaces.
Investigators also conducted a search of the couple’s trash, which reportedly yielded empty vials, syringes, and baggies that tested positive for fentanyl. In late November, postal inspectors intercepted one package addressed to the home and found roughly 119 grams of blue pills consistent with counterfeit oxycontin. Testing showed the pills contained fentanyl.
Authorities allowed several other suspected drug packages to be delivered as part of the investigation and observed what they described as a handoff system involving a small cooler left on the couple’s porch. Items placed inside were later retrieved by other individuals. One such individual told authorities he had purchased Adderall from the couple for $5 per pill. The item he retrieved was allegedly a Zyn container holding orange pills that tested positive for methamphetamine.
A subsequent search of the home uncovered substantial quantities of drugs, including hundreds of grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine, smaller amounts of MDMA, and other suspected controlled substances. Additional nicotine pouch containers from different brands were also found to contain drugs.
According to the affidavit, Rankin, who works as a schoolteacher and competes in bodybuilding events, told authorities that her husband began by selling steroids before moving on to other drugs. Both Salsburey and Rankin now face federal charges related to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The case emerges as Ramaswamy holds a razor-thin one-point lead over Democrat Amy Acton in the Ohio governor’s race, underscoring how personal misconduct by peripheral figures can quickly become a political flashpoint in a tight election.
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