Does a video show U.S. Sen. John Fetterman being arrested after pulling a gun on a person in a car? No, that's not true: The man seen in the clip is not the senator from Pennsylvania but a man in Des Moines, Iowa. According to reports, Des Moines police identified him as Bradley James Ratkovich, who was charged with assault and harassment.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) by the @toneill92 account on X on July 27, 2026. It read:
This is john fetterman
This is what a screenshot of the video in the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @toneill92 on X.)
The video originated in another post (archived here) by Josh Barzon (@JoshuaBarzon) on X on July 25, 2026. It made no mention of Fetterman and read:
Road rage almost turned deadly today in my area of Des Moines.
A man pulled a gun on another driver at the same intersection I stop at on my commute from work. Thankfully the cops intervened before it was too late.
Be careful out there.
The video is embedded below:
Road rage almost turned deadly today in my area of Des Moines.
-- Josh Barzon (@JoshuaBarzon) July 25, 2026
A man pulled a gun on another driver at the same intersection I stop at on my commute from work. Thankfully the cops intervened before it was too late.
Be careful out there. pic.twitter.com/H7tDGGd7J3
News searches
Lead Stories searched Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) and did not find any matching reports from credible news outlets using the search terms: "Fetterman," "arrested," and "video."
Local television stations reported (archived here) that the Des Moines Police Department identified the man as Bradley James Ratkovich. The incident took place on July 24, 2026. Ratkovich was booked (archived here) into the Polk County Jail.
Lead Stories reached out to the Des Moines Police Department but did not receive an immediate reply.
A screenshot of his booking record from the jail is available below:
(Image source: Polk County, Iowa, Sheriff's Office.)
