The distorted foliage resembles the damage done by a viral infection, which can be transmitted by certain insect feeding damage. Symptom overlap occurs with herbicide exposure damage. Could any weed killer have been used in the area, especially on a hot day, that drifted into this part of the garden? Neither herbicide damage nor viral infections can be remedied, though you can monitor the plants for worsening symptoms if you prefer before removing them.

Sometimes pests like thrips (tiny, but visible) and broad mites (microscopic) can cause distortion and stunting of young growth, and it's difficult to rule them out in this case. If you snip off the distorted growth, since it cannot heal, replacement growth might be less affected if the pest population is reduced, though as a precaution against spreading a potential viral infection, sanitize pruners before using them on any other plants. If broad mites are responsible, they can be difficult to treat with insecticide (especially when limited to products labeled for use on edible plants), and plants too heavily infested might need to be disposed of instead. (While some types of beneficial predatory mites can suppress broad mites, ordering and releasing a batch from a biological supply company can be quite expensive compared to the cost of new pepper plants, so is not practical once an infestation becomes too damaging.)

Miri