WATCH: Vivek Releases Passionate Rebuke Of New Political Indictment Against Donald Trump

Surging GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy issued a heartfelt rebuke of the Biden DOJ’s latest four-count indictment against former President Trump in connection with his objections to the 2020 election. Ramaswamy has arguably been the most vocal Trump challenger in the GOP primary field when it comes to pushing back against the DOJ’s politically motivated indictments and has repeatedly pledged to pardon Trump if elected.

“It would be easier for me if Donald Trump were eliminated from competition. That’s not how I wanna win. This is not about politics. To me, this is about first principles,” Ramaswamy began. “We do not want to become a country where the party in power is able to use Banana Republic like tactics to eliminate its political opponents.”

“And I’m sad to say that’s exactly where we are. The allegations in this indictment fall flat. It is wrong, and incorrect, and inaccurate to place blame for what happened on January 6 at the feet of Donald Trump,” he continued.

Ramaswamy — who has surged to third place in a number of recent polls after entering the race as a political unknown — went on to say that he may have made different decisions if he were in office at the time. The GOP contender went on to stress that Trump did not commit a crime, however. “He specifically told the protesters that day to behave peacefully,” Ramaswamy said.

“The First Amendment in this country gives political protesters the ability to express themselves and their opinions freely,” he continued.

Ramaswamy went on to reiterate his belief that “pervasive, systematic censorship” led to the minor rioting on January 6. Throughout his campaign, Ramaswamy has repeatedly pointed to glowing endorsements of the months-long, violent BLM riots from elected Democrats and the mainstream media as contributing factors to the climate that led to the protests.

“That was after a year, where we had told people across this nation, that you had to stay locked down in your house, in your basement. And shut up, sit down, do what you’re told. If you question that, you’re racist, you’re anti science,” Ramaswamy continued. “You had to stay home and locked down, unless you were part of BLM or Antifa, in which case it was perfectly fine to roam the streets of this country and burn many of them down.”