Ames, Iowa - During a campaign event on Thursday, presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was rushed by a climate protester who was in turn swiftly taken down by a security guard.

In a video of the incident shared to social media by CBS News reporter Aaron Navarro, DeSantis can be seen speaking to a crowd of voters from a small stage.

Out of nowhere, an anonymous protester rushes up to the stage on DeSantis' left side with a sign reading, "DeSantis: Climate Criminal."

Within seconds a security guard charges from the opposite end of the stage, tackling the protester.

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DeSantis awkwardly pauses for a moment before laughing and pointing at the downed protester, declaring, "This is [what's] wrong with the college system right there. That's exhibit A."

The incident comes as Republican primary candidates have been aggressively campaigning in early-voting states, with Iowa being the first to vote on January 15.

According to an update from Navarro, there was a second protester in the audience who was also escorted out by security.

The Sunrise Movement, a climate advocacy group that also protested at DeSantis' Fox News town hall earlier this week, later confirmed that the protesters were members of their movement.

"Lately, DeSantis has been seeing us almost as much as he sees his fossil fuel donors," the group said in a social media post. "And for some reason, his security guards aren't as friendly to us as they are to them."