Beckwith debates Hoosiers in chippy town hall

Yahoo

28-05-2025

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith answers questions during his May 27, 2025, town hall in Zionsville. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
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.'
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