Beckwith debates Hoosiers in chippy town hall
Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith went toe-to-toe with constituents at a Zionsville town hall Tuesday night — defending his stance on bringing religion into his public post and concerns about 'chemtrails.'
About 100 Hoosiers attended the event, though some left as the event stretched to two hours. The night featured numerous interruptions from both Beckwith and those in the audience. Loud boos and noes were repeatedly lobbed.
'If you shoot little snide remarks at me, I might just shoot them right back,' Beckwith said during one exchange.
After the event, Beckwith said he considered it a success.
'I'm not trying to win somebody over to my side of the argument. I'm just trying to say, hey, let's dialogue. And I'm going to tell you what I believe, why I believe it,' he told reporters. 'And, you know, I believe people are adults. They can make up their own minds after they hear what I say, and then you can let other people, you know, let their voices be heard as well.'
One attendee, Scott Johnson, read several laws and constitutional provisions about religion in government, noting that the U.S. Constitution contains no references to the Bible or Christianity.
'I don't understand how you can swear an oath to the Constitution and then violate it,' he said. 'Your word should mean something, sir.'
Another woman told Beckwith, who is a pastor, that Hoosiers are his constituents and not his congregants.
His response was to point out God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence four times. The crowd audibly groaned when Beckwith said the separation of church and state is a myth and that 'we are a Judeo-Christian nation.'
One woman, who declined to provide her name, was concerned about the preservation of farmland in Boone County and other areas.
'I too believe in free enterprise, in the capital market, but I also believe that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our land,' she said, specifically mentioning the Indiana Economic Development Corporation buying up land for the contentious LEAP district.
Beckwith said he wants Gov. Mike Braun to clean house at the IEDC.
'I don't know if you can save the IEDC at this point because people don't trust it. People have seen the abuse that has gone on,' he said, adding that the LEAP project was 'slammed down the throats of the people of Boone County.'
Another speaker pointed to Beckwith's recent peddling of a conspiracy theory that aircraft are nefariously spreading dangerous substances in the condensation trails — so-called 'chemtrails' — they leave in the sky. A second man said this is an issue that concerns him.
'You mentioned chemtrails and that's got my attention,' Alex Sutherland said. 'You look up at the sky today, it doesn't feel like May. It didn't at the Indy 500. I know they are spraying stuff out of those high-altitude jet planes.'
Beckwith praised Florida and Tennessee for passing legislation targeting weather modification. And he noted a bill filed in Indiana to levy huge fines on anyone putting chemicals in the air to impact weather.
'I think it's worth looking into,' he said, adding, 'If we find out it's laughable then great.'
During the exchange, Beckwith called the crowd 'leftist socialists.' One woman yelled back, 'We're Americans, not socialists.'
Property taxes also earned discussion after a man gave examples of inconsistent assessed values in communities.
'We dropped the ball on this,' Beckwith said about the recently passed property tax reform package.
He supports limiting property tax payments based on the purchase price of a home but acknowledged the problems can't be fixed overnight.
'It's going to take us longer than just a few months to untangle this mess,' Beckwith said.
About 30 protesters gathered outside before the town hall began. Many were carrying signs. One said 'Lt. Gov. Beckwith. This is our state, not your church.' Another said he was '0/5 of a person' — referencing comments he made on the Three-Fifths Compromise.
'Micah Beckwith is harmful to children,' Amy Garman, of Indivisible Central Indiana, told the crowd. She said Republicans have banned books and outed transgender kids 'under the guise of parental rights.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
23 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump's motivation for accusing Adam Schiff of fraud is clear. But the legal case is not
Sen. Adam Schiff has been on President Donald Trump's hit list for many years — an outspoken critic with a role in both of Trump's impeachments — so it came as no surprise when the president announced a criminal investigation into Schiff's financial transactions. What is far less clear is whether the California Democrat stepped over any legal lines when he bought two homes, on opposite coasts, and listed both of them for a number of years as his 'principal residence,' with potential benefits in mortgage rates and taxes. In 2003, three years after his election to the House of Representatives, Schiff and his wife, Eve, purchased a home in a Maryland suburb for themselves and their two young children. Six years later, the couple bought a condominium in Schiff's House district in Burbank. It was not until 2020 that he reclassified the Maryland home as a 'secondary' residence. Home owners can claim a tax deduction on mortgage payments for their primary residence, and Schiff says he took a deduction only on the condominium, saving $70 per year. They may also qualify for lower mortgage payments, and Schiff's office — while insisting that he has never misled his lenders — has not responded to questions on whether he sought reduced payments on either residence. The transactions came to Trump's attention last month. 'I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist,' Trump said in a July 15 post on his Truth Social network. Now, he said, federal financial investigators have found that 'Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible mortgage fraud,' and Ed Martin — designated 'special attorney' by Trump's Justice Department after he failed to win Senate confirmation as a U.S. attorney — will look into possible criminal charges. Schiff, unsurprisingly, called it a baseless smear, 'Donald Trump's latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies.' And Schiff, who served 24 years in the House before his Senate election last November, has been on Trump's enemies list at least since 2019, when he played a lead role in the congressional investigation that led to Trump's first impeachment. That followed disclosures that Trump had withheld congressionally approved military aid from Ukraine to pressure the nation's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to announce an investigation of Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. In 2021, Schiff also took part in the investigation that resulted in Trump's impeachment by the House for helping to incite the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob trying to overturn the 2020 election results. The Senate acquitted Trump in both cases, as Democrats lacked the two-thirds majority needed to remove him from office. Meanwhile, Schiff's supporters note that Trump has been silent about revelations last month that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican and strong supporter of the president, and his now-estranged wife had declared three separate homes in Texas as their primary residences at the same time, which reportedly made it possible for them to reduce their loan payments by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Schiff insists he has done nothing wrong. He says he notified his lenders and mortgage companies that he and his wife listed both their homes as 'principal residences' because they lived in both places and did not use them as vacation homes or rental property. And he says he acted 'in consultation' with House legal staff. 'Big surprise — members of Congress, almost all of them, own more than one home or rent more than one home because we're required to be on both coasts,' Schiff said in a video posted online. Federal mortgage fraud is the crime of deliberately making false statements to mislead a lender or mortgage company into approving a loan or granting other financial benefits that otherwise would have been denied. It requires proof that the person knowingly provided misinformation about an important issue in order to deceive the lender into approving a loan or providing financial benefits. The crime is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. So did Schiff knowingly deceive his lenders? That might depend on whom you ask. The evidence Trump has relayed to prosecutor Ken Martin contains 'very serious allegations if true, and they could potentially constitute some level of fraud,' William Jacobson, a Cornell law professor and conservative commentator, told Fox News. 'If an average citizen misrepresented mortgage documents … to get a favorable rate, I think such person would be prosecuted.' Jacobson also criticized Schiff and other Democrats for 'cheerleading' Trump's prosecution and conviction on 34 felony charges. Trump was found guilty by a New York jury in May 2024 of concealing $130,000 in payments to former porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep her from disclosing their sexual relationship before the 2016 election. A sentencing judge imposed no criminal penalties this January, as Trump was about to return to office. Schiff's actions drew a similar assessment from William Pulte, a former businessman appointed by Trump in January to direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In a 'criminal referral' to Justice Department officials in May, Pulte, citing media reports, said Schiff 'has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms.' A different assessment came from Lawrence Jacobson, a veteran real estate lawyer in Beverly Hills who has served as an expert witness in trials on property issues. 'He has done nothing wrong,' Jacobson — no relation to the Cornell professor — told the Chronicle. 'He made full disclosure to the lenders and did it only after advice of counsel. The only crime he committed was doing his job.' Candace Turitto, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, said that 'technically, there's absolutely nothing wrong' with Schiff's transactions, based on the evidence so far. But she said the mortgage laws, allowing borrowers to claim benefits on only one home at a time, raise difficult legal and political issues for members of Congress from faraway states. 'It might make one ponder, where exactly is the line for a primary residence?' Turitto said. 'How much time of a year should I spend sleeping under a certain roof for it to count as primary? Must I travel across the country to go 'home' after work, while my MD or VA colleague has a 30-minute drive home?' And it also affects congressional dialogue, she said. Before the time of regular air travel, Turitto said, 'members of Congress would spend weekends and the like in DC. … They would socialize, break bread, talk shop in after-hours environments,' forming 'more cooperative relationships across party lines.' These days, she observed, 'there's much less of this.'
San Francisco Chronicle
23 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
FACT FOCUS: No, taxpayers will not receive new stimulus checks this summer
Don't splurge just yet. Rumors spread online Friday that the U.S. government will soon be issuing stimulus checks to taxpayers in certain income brackets. But Congress has not passed legislation to authorize such payments, and, according to the IRS, no new stimulus checks will be distributed in the coming weeks. Here's a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have approved $1,390 stimulus checks that will be distributed to low- and middle-income taxpayers by the end of the summer. THE FACTS: This is false. Taxpayers will not receive new stimulus checks of any amount this summer, an IRS official said. Stimulus checks, also known as economic impact payments, are authorized by Congress through legislation and distributed by the Treasury Department. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri last month introduced a bill that would send tax rebates to qualified taxpayers using revenue from tariffs instituted by President Donald Trump. Hawley's bill has not passed the Senate or the House. The IRS announced early this year that it would distribute about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim on their 2021 tax returns a Recovery Rebate Credit — a refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more COVID-19 stimulus checks. The maximum amount was $1,400 per individual. Those who hadn't already filed their 2021 tax return would have needed to file it by April 15 to claim the credit. The IRS official said there is no new credit that taxpayers can claim. Past stimulus checks have been authorized through legislation passed by Congress. For example, payments during the coronavirus pandemic were made by possible by three bills: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act; the COVID-related Tax Relief Act; and the American Rescue Plan Act. In 2008, stimulus checks were authorized in response to the Great Recession through the Economic Stimulus Act. The Treasury Department, which includes the Internal Revenue Service, distributed stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession. The Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, formed in 2012, played a role as well during the former crisis. Hawley in July introduced the American Worker Rebate Act, which would share tariff revenue with qualified Americans through tax rebates. The proposed rebates would amount to at minimum $600 per individual, with additional payments for qualifying children. Rebates could increase if tariff revenue is higher than expected. Taxpayers with an adjusted annual gross income above a certain amount — $75,000 for those filing individually — would receive a reduced rebate. Hawley said Americans 'deserve a tax rebate.' 'Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump's tariffs are returning to this country,' Hawley said in a press release. Neither the Senate nor the House had passed the American Worker Rebate Act as of Friday. It was read twice by the Senate on July 28, the day it was introduced, and referred to the Committee on Finance. ___
New York Post
23 minutes ago
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani reveals morbid habit he picked up since his rise to fame in NYC mayoral race — and it's drawing comparisons to his hero Bill de Blasio
Things are looking grave. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani said he's taken up strolling through cemeteries in light of his newfound fame — a morbid habit pioneered by his mayoral hero Bill de Blasio. Mamdani, in a Time Magazine profile released this week, griped about the loss of privacy he's had to contend with since his stunning Democratic mayoral primary win in June. Advertisement 'I already miss being outside,' he told Time. 'I now go to cemeteries a lot between meetings. because they are parks without people.' 3 Zohran Mamdani reportedly has started walking in graveyards to find some privacy. James Keivom Advertisement Mamdani's traipsing through graveyards quickly drew mockery from his opponents for its similarity to the rambling walks favored by de Blasio, who galumphed through cemeteries, heckler-filled Prospect Park and the South Street Seaport. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for mayor as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa have recently started labeling Mamdani as 'de Blasio 2.0.' 'NYC doesn't need another Mayor who wanders graveyards to avoid people. Just bizarre,' Sliwa posted on X. Cuomo's longtime spokesman Rich Azzopardi likewise leapt on the comparison, posting side-by-side screenshots of Mamdani's quote to Time and a 2020 New York Post story about de Blasio's solo treks in Green-Wood Cemetery. Advertisement 'Well this is weird,' Azzopardi deadpanned on X. 3 Curtis Sliwa unfavorably compared Mamdani's cemetery strolls to de Blasio's own graveyard walks. 3 Bill de Blasio often strolled through cemeteries, parks and South Street Seaport while serving as mayor. Gabriella Bass Mamdani praised de Blasio — who served from 2014 to 2021 — to the New York Times as 'the best mayor of my lifetime' for delivering universal pre-K, ending stop-and-frisk and taxing the rich. Advertisement But he also noted he criticized de Blasio during his mayoralty and embarked on a 15-day hunger strike for taxi cab drivers' debt relief. Still, like de Blasio, Mamdani hasn't been afraid to hoof it across the Big Apple. While Cuomo was illegally parking his Dodge Charger — including in left-turn lanes — outside campaign events during the primary, Mamdani walked the 13.4-mile length of Manhattan, capturing the journey on video to share with his social media followers.
