Far-right Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Casey Putsch, a Tiffin native now based in Perrysburg, posted a video on X on Tuesday in which he fires a rifle while directing racist language at GOP primary frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy.

In the video, which had drawn more than 66,000 views by Wednesday, Putsch appears holding a lever-action rifle, says “Hey Vivek, you want to play Cowboys versus Indians?” and fires three shots. He then adds, “Don’t worry, it’s feather, not dot” — a slur that uses derogatory shorthand to distinguish between Indigenous people and people of Indian descent. The “dot” reference refers to a bindi, a forehead mark worn by some Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

Dr. Deepak Sarma, a professor of Indian religions and philosophy at Case Western Reserve University, told News 5 Cleveland’s Morgan Trau that the video constituted a clear threat.

“One hundred percent, it’s a threat,” Sarma said. “This person is perpetuating, is fueling xenophobia in the United States, and he’s doing it in the most egregious way possible.”

In an interview with News 5 Cleveland, Putsch denied that the video was racist or threatening, calling it a joke protected by the First and Second Amendments.

“I am also supporting the Second Amendment and exercising my First Amendment right to make a joke that lots of people think is actually funny,” Putsch said, adding that people were being too sensitive and that much of his social media content “shouldn’t be taken seriously.”

But Putsch went further in the same interview, questioning Ramaswamy’s citizenship despite the fact that Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati to parents who immigrated legally from India. Ramaswamy’s mother is a naturalized U.S. citizen. His father never took the citizenship test, Ramaswamy said during his 2024 presidential campaign.

“He’s questionably American, and that’s a funny joke too,” Putsch told the reporter.

When Trau pointed out that Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Putsch responded: “Yeah, he was born to Indian foreign nationals who came here just to have an anchor baby.”

Putsch has routinely posted about deporting Indian people, including Ramaswamy — his own primary opponent. NBC News has previously reported that Putsch repeatedly calls Ramaswamy “an Indian Anchor baby,” a term that undermines citizenship guaranteed to U.S.-born children of immigrants under the 14th Amendment.

Ramaswamy’s campaign declined to comment on the video. His running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, addressed political violence generally but was unable to comment specifically on the attack due to rules around discussing campaigns while on the Senate floor.

“I think it doesn’t matter what party you’re in,” McColley told News 5 Cleveland. “Political violence should be condemned at every level.”

Sarma noted the irony that Ramaswamy himself has supported ending birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants and has backed President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies.

“There is some irony to this, in that he has supported these positions, and he’s supported Trump, and he supported Trump’s rhetoric, and it has come back to bite him,” Sarma said.

Restaurant cancels Putsch fundraiser over Nazi ties

The video is the latest in a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric from Putsch’s campaign. On the same day the video drew national attention, a Columbus-area restaurant announced it had canceled a planned Putsch fundraiser.

La Chatelaine Bakery & Bistro in Worthington posted a statement on Facebook saying it would not host the event after learning of Putsch’s comments sympathizing with Adolf Hitler and Nazis.

“We unequivocally denounce those who express pro-Nazi opinions and beliefs, and will not host individuals who are at odds with our stance,” the restaurant said.

Putsch has previously faced scrutiny for posting a video in which he asked an AI chatbot to list good things Hitler did for Germany and criticized the chatbot for prefacing its answer with a disclaimer about the Holocaust. In a January interview with News 5 Cleveland and the Ohio Capital Journal, he was questioned about comments that Hitler had some good decisions and beliefs.

Putsch also drew controversy earlier this month after organizing a “beer hall rally” in Toledo — a phrase that many connected to his last name and Adolf Hitler’s failed 1923 coup, known as the Beer Hall Putsch. The candidate said he couldn’t help having a German last name.

As News 5 Cleveland’s Trau noted, however, double entendres are not unheard of for Putsch — a point the candidate himself illustrated with the “Cowboys versus Indians” remark.

Putsch faces Ramaswamy and Morgan County business owner Heather Hill in the May 5 Republican primary for governor.