INDIANA NEWS SERVICE - Discussions by Gov. Mike Braun and Miami County's mass deportation holding center are fueling another round of No Kings Day rallies.
This Saturday's statewide and national protests are in response to what demonstrators see as an authoritarian-leaning Trump administration. Evansville, South Bend, Bloomington, Columbus, Muncie, and Fort Wayne are among 44-plus cities hosting rallies. A national pro-democracy group, the Indivisible Project, said more than 2,600 around the country are confirmed.
Leah Greenberg, cofounder and co-executive director of the Indivisible Project, said some Republicans are calling their actions “anti-American.”
"There is nothing more American than saying that we don't have kings and exercising our right to peaceful protest," Greenberg countered. "These protests are peaceful, disciplined, and grounded in solidarity. That is what they fear, our unity, and we're going to show it on October 18."
Greenberg claimed Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., Speaker of the House of Representatives, is leading a smear campaign of misinformation, calling protesters "terrorists."
Demonstrators in Indianapolis will gather at noon at the Indiana Statehouse south lawn. Before the protest, music, guest speakers, and informational booths will be featured along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
Five Hoosier social change groups want their voices heard: MADVoters Indiana, Women4Change Indiana, Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, Indivisible Indiana and the ACLU of Indiana.
Laura Forbes, communications director for the ACLU, accused some Republican leaders of not standing up to Trump’s policies.
"We felt it was important to get involved alongside our partners, because, frankly, Trump and his administration are abusing their power, and many leaders here in Indiana have been far too willing to help this administration do that," Forbes asserted. "We hope and expect to see a really strong turnout of Hoosiers in communities across the state this weekend."
Suppression of free speech is another hot button grievance. This week Indiana University Bloomington officials fired the Indiana Daily Student newspaper's director of student media after he accused the school of censorship. Shortly afterward, it was announced the newspaper will discontinue as a printed publication and transition to digital.
Terri Dee wrote this article.