Latest news with #IndivisibleCentralIndiana
Indianapolis Star
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'I am outraged at this' - Hundreds protest outside of Indiana Governor's Residence
Hundreds of critics gathered outside the Indiana Governor's Residence on Aug. 7 to show their disapproval with national Republican leadership, who have discussed the idea of holding a special session to redistrict Indiana. Many of those outside of the residence had previously protested Vice President JD Vance's visit to the Statehouse earlier in the day, where he held a meeting with Governor Mike Braun behind closed doors. Braun told reporters as he left the meeting that it went "pretty good" and "covered a wide array of topics." He said redistricting was a topic of conversation, but when asked if any agreement had been reached, he only said, "We listened." But those waving signs outside the Governor's Residence in north Indianapolis felt differently about the meeting. 'The purpose of (Vance's) visit was to make sure that there are no democratic seats in the 2026 election, and that Donald Trump is assured of election because he's rigged it already,' said Lamont Hulse, an organizer with Indivisible Central Indiana. By 5:30 p.m., about 300 people lined Meridian Street, many holding signs like 'save our seats,' 'stop the steal,' and 'no votes for sale.' Close to 100 people have gathered outside of the Indiana Governor's Mansion to protest the state government, who floated the idea of redistricting the state in favor of Republican Republicans already hold 7 of the state's 9 US. House seats.@indystar Hulse believed it was important for Hoosiers to share their voices about this issue. 'I am outraged at this. These are not the Hoosier values I was brought up with," Hulse said. 'The Hoosier values of fairness, of equity, of letting people's voice count, respecting your neighbors, and of not running over people's rights.' More: What Gov. Mike Braun said about redistricting in Indiana following meeting with JD Vance As lifelong Hoosiers, Susan Bettis and Mike Cabat felt embarrassed when they learned intentions of redrawing congressional boundaries had surfaced in Indiana. Traditionally, in Indiana, state leaders don't consider redistricting efforts until the U.S. Census Bureau collects its data at the start of the decade. "It's a blatant power grab that's happening right in the middle of the decade," Bettis said. Bettis and Cabat remembered a time in Indiana when it felt like both state Democrats and Republicans could work together and create legislation that benefited "all Hoosiers and not just the ones that voted for them." While dozens of adults were holding up signs and chanting, Slone Young, 6, and her younger sister were playing hide and seek around the trees at the edge of the governor's residence. An Indiana State Police officer took notice of the two girls playing in the yard and began to walk toward the children, before turning his attention to scold some adults who walked onto the property. When the officer stopped paying attention to them, Young knelt in front of a tree and began to pray. After completing her prayer, she turned to the Governor's Residence and made the sign of the cross toward the building. She then ran to her mother, holding her sister's hands. When asked what she prayed for, Young said, "That's between God and me."
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'We are deeply concerned.' Protesters urge Indiana leaders to refocus on state issues
CARMEL – Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside U.S. Sen. Todd Young's Carmel office July 20, calling on Indiana's Republican congressional leaders to invest in local communities rather than promote the administration's goals of arresting and deporting migrants. Two similar protests were happening concurrently outside the offices of U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in Noblesville and U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym in Mishawaka, with protesters calling on the representatives to prioritize issues that they said would benefit Hoosiers directly. The Indiana State AFL-CIO, Indivisible Central Indiana, and the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance organized these protests in response to the federal government's passage of the massive bill, known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and budgetary reductions to Medicaid. "Across Indiana, we have hundreds of Hoosiers standing together to say we want our taxpayer dollars to be used for housing, health care and education, and not to be used for masked ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers who terrorize our communities and frankly, kidnap our friends and families," said event organizer Stuart undefined. IndyStar reached out to Young's, Spartz's and Yakym's offices for comment. Although Young did not provide a direct response to the July 20 protest, he did provide his reasoning for voting for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." 'The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides important resources to support and modernize our military. It also will significantly invest in border security to build more of our border wall and hire more border patrol officers," Young said in a statement to IndyStar. Spartz's press secretary provided a statement to IndyStar's question regarding the demonstrations. "The Congresswoman has been committed to fixing our broken health care system since her time in the State Senate," said Spartz's press secretary in an email to IndyStar. "We've made some progress, but much more needs to be done to improve transparency, affordability, access, and outcomes – and to stop material fraud and abuse." At the time of publication, Yakym had not provided a comment. Concerns of fear growing in migrant communities Mora said this issue runs deep for him and others who work in immigration law. He has witnessed growing fear among Indiana's migrant communities concerning increasing militarization of immigration enforcement across the country. This was on display earlier in the month, when protesters outside of a Ventura County farm in Camarillo, California, were hit with pepper balls and tear gas as federal agents were conducting an immigration sweep on Glass House Farms, one of the state's largest cannabis farms. More: Families divided, rage, tear gas: How the Glass House raid went down That immigration raid led to the arrest of more than 350 people, including George Retes, 25, a U.S. Army veteran, while he was on his way to work. Retes was released from jail three days later. The raid also led to the death of Jaime Alanís Garcia, 56, a farm worker who fell 30 feet off a building and suffered "catastrophic" injuries to his head and neck. Although Indiana has not experienced an immigration raid at this scale, community leaders shared that many in migrant communities are afraid that they may potentially be picked up off the street and deported, whether rightfully or not. Many also shared concerns about Indiana and Indianapolis leaders increasing participation with national immigration enforcement. "Part of our concern is with the use of our jails (being) used as a detention center for ICE," said Rev. Carolyn Higginbotham with the Central Christian Church Disciples of Christ. "We are deeply concerned about the way in which our tax dollars are being spent and we do not want them used to warehouse folks for ICE. What we want is for them to invest in things that are actually going to make our city a better home for everyone and a place where people feel safe." Earlier this year, the Marion County Adult Detention Center started being more heavily used as a place where the federal government temporarily jailed immigrants picked up in Indiana and neighboring states. This came after the federal government ran into capacity issues at its existing immigration detention center, as 84 of the 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day during October 2024 through mid-April 2025, according to a report by nonprofit TRAC. Included on that report was the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana. The jail is contracted to house up to 100 migrants, but appears to have an average daily population of about 242 people through mid-April, according to TRAC data. More: Marion County Jail is housing ICE detainees. Here's why that concerns some Camp Atterbury being turned into a detention center Demonstrators also called on Indiana leaders to stand against the federal government's plan to turn the Camp Atterbury military post near Edinburgh into a temporary detention center. This news was announced on July 15 in a letter written by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining a plan to use Camp Atterbury as temporary housing for migrants being held by the Department of Homeland Security. "The terrible irony (is) that this is the place where we welcomed Afghan refugees a couple of years ago, and now those same people could be targeted for removal through the same facility," Higginbotham said. Many at the protest said they believed that Indiana's state government leaders should shift their focus from federal issues to more localized problems, like the growing divide among low-income families wanting to improve their children's education, or the housing affordability crisis emerging in cities like West Lafayette and Carmel. "Our message today is one of hope," said Sayra Campos, a representative from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. "We don't need more policing. We want investments in housing, health care, education, jobs with dignity and permanent protections for all Hoosiers." Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@ follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Anti-ICE protesters urge Indiana leaders to focus on state issues Solve the daily Crossword
Indianapolis Star
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'We are deeply concerned.' Protesters urge Indiana leaders to refocus on state issues
CARMEL – Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside U.S. Sen. Todd Young's Carmel office July 20, calling on Indiana's Republican congressional leaders to invest in local communities rather than promote the administration's goals of arresting and deporting migrants. Two similar protests were happening concurrently outside the offices of U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in Noblesville and U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym in Mishawaka, with protesters calling on the representatives to prioritize issues that they said would benefit Hoosiers directly. The Indiana State AFL-CIO, Indivisible Central Indiana, and the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance organized these protests in response to the federal government's passage of the massive bill, known as the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and budgetary reductions to Medicaid. "Across Indiana, we have hundreds of Hoosiers standing together to say we want our taxpayer dollars to be used for housing, health care and education, and not to be used for masked ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers who terrorize our communities and frankly, kidnap our friends and families," said event organizer Stuart undefined. IndyStar reached out to Young's, Spartz's and Yakym's offices for comment. Although Young did not provide a direct response to the July 20 protest, he did provide his reasoning for voting for the "One Big, Beautiful Bill." 'The One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides important resources to support and modernize our military. It also will significantly invest in border security to build more of our border wall and hire more border patrol officers," Young said in a statement to IndyStar. Spartz's press secretary provided a statement to IndyStar's question regarding the demonstrations. "The Congresswoman has been committed to fixing our broken health care system since her time in the State Senate," said Spartz's press secretary in an email to IndyStar. "We've made some progress, but much more needs to be done to improve transparency, affordability, access, and outcomes – and to stop material fraud and abuse." At the time of publication, Yakym had not provided a comment. Mora said this issue runs deep for him and others who work in immigration law. He has witnessed growing fear among Indiana's migrant communities concerning increasing militarization of immigration enforcement across the country. This was on display earlier in the month, when protesters outside of a Ventura County farm in Camarillo, California, were hit with pepper balls and tear gas as federal agents were conducting an immigration sweep on Glass House Farms, one of the state's largest cannabis farms. More: Families divided, rage, tear gas: How the Glass House raid went down That immigration raid led to the arrest of more than 350 people, including George Retes, 25, a U.S. Army veteran, while he was on his way to work. Retes was released from jail three days later. The raid also led to the death of Jaime Alanís Garcia, 56, a farm worker who fell 30 feet off a building and suffered "catastrophic" injuries to his head and neck. Although Indiana has not experienced an immigration raid at this scale, community leaders shared that many in migrant communities are afraid that they may potentially be picked up off the street and deported, whether rightfully or not. Many also shared concerns about Indiana and Indianapolis leaders increasing participation with national immigration enforcement. "Part of our concern is with the use of our jails (being) used as a detention center for ICE," said Rev. Carolyn Higginbotham with the Central Christian Church Disciples of Christ. "We are deeply concerned about the way in which our tax dollars are being spent and we do not want them used to warehouse folks for ICE. What we want is for them to invest in things that are actually going to make our city a better home for everyone and a place where people feel safe." Earlier this year, the Marion County Adult Detention Center started being more heavily used as a place where the federal government temporarily jailed immigrants picked up in Indiana and neighboring states. This came after the federal government ran into capacity issues at its existing immigration detention center, as 84 of the 181 detention facilities exceeded their contractual capacity on at least one day during October 2024 through mid-April 2025, according to a report by nonprofit TRAC. Included on that report was the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana. The jail is contracted to house up to 100 migrants, but appears to have an average daily population of about 242 people through mid-April, according to TRAC data. More: Marion County Jail is housing ICE detainees. Here's why that concerns some Demonstrators also called on Indiana leaders to stand against the federal government's plan to turn the Camp Atterbury military post near Edinburgh into a temporary detention center. This news was announced on July 15 in a letter written by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlining a plan to use Camp Atterbury as temporary housing for migrants being held by the Department of Homeland Security. "The terrible irony (is) that this is the place where we welcomed Afghan refugees a couple of years ago, and now those same people could be targeted for removal through the same facility," Higginbotham said. Many at the protest said they believed that Indiana's state government leaders should shift their focus from federal issues to more localized problems, like the growing divide among low-income families wanting to improve their children's education, or the housing affordability crisis emerging in cities like West Lafayette and Carmel. "Our message today is one of hope," said Sayra Campos, a representative from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. "We don't need more policing. We want investments in housing, health care, education, jobs with dignity and permanent protections for all Hoosiers."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Indiana Lt. Gov. Is Terrified Of Pride Month: 'The Rainbow Beast Is Coming For Your Kids!'
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith expressed his terror over upcoming Pride Month, a month dedicated to recognizing the LGBTQ+ community, in a frantic social media post Friday. 'PRIDE MONTH ALERT: The Rainbow Beast Is Coming For Your Kids!' the post from Beckwith said. 'WARNING: Corporate America and government institutions are launching their annual siege on childhood innocence—and this year's Pride Month agenda is more aggressive than ever.' Pride Month, which goes from June 1 to June 30, celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and the progress they've made in gaining more rights and combating discrimination. But for the conspiratorial Beckwith, Pride Month is a way to 'reprogram society' into being more compassionate, which is apparently bad. 'This isn't about 'tolerance,'' his post said. 'It's a state-corporate-pagan alliance to reprogram society. They've swapped biology for 'identity constructs,' swapped scripture for Harvey Milk sermons, and swapped parental rights for government-sanctioned grooming.' Beckwith ended his post with a link to a self-described 'Christian Independent Press' website that references the 'rainbow beast' in a post with an anonymous byline. On his biography page, Beckwith said he is a pastor who 'stepped up' after seeing the 'woke agenda threatening our schools.' Beckwith also came under fire last month for comments he made about the Three-Fifths Compromise, calling the 18th century law that counted an enslaved person as 60% of a free person 'a great move.' 'I would like to share with you, the Three-Fifths Compromise is not a pro-discrimination compromise,' he said in a video about the pro-discrimination compromise. 'It was not a pro-discrimination or a slave-driving compromise that the founders made. It was actually just the opposite.' Republican Gov. Mike Braun gave a mealy-mouthed response to Beckwith's slavery comments. 'I'm a believer that you better start thinking about what you're saying before it comes out,' Braun said. 'So, I'll leave it at that.' On Tuesday, demonstrators with Indivisible Central Indiana showed up to Beckwith's town hall to make their displeasure known. The group refers to itself as an 'inclusive, progressive ACTIVIST grassroots organization.' The protest was meant to 'raise public awareness about Beckwith's dangerous ideology and his efforts to dismantle democratic norms under the guise of religious extremism,' the group said in a statement. Braun's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Beckwith's latest comments.
