Demonstrators gather during Indiana Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith's town hall event in Zionsville

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. - Protestors gathered during a town hall event Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith held in Zionsville Tuesday night.




The demonstration was organized by Indivisible Central Indiana. In a press release, the organization described the gathering as "family friendly" and "rooted in nonviolent civic engagement."




Indivisible Central Indiana indicated the demonstration was designed to "raise public awareness about Beckwith's dangerous ideology and his efforts to dismantle democratic norms under the guise of religious extremism."




Protestors that gathered outside Zionsville Town Hall brought signs with them. The demonstration was part of Indivisible Central Indiana's "broader push ... to hold public figures accountable and to challenge the normalization of anti-democratic rhetoric and political discourse."

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"Hoosiers have a right to show up and speak out when our values are under attack," Indivisible Central Indiana's Monty Hulse wrote in a prepared statement. "Beckwith's views are extreme, unrepresentative, and a threat to the pluralistic democracy that Indiana deserves."




During his town hall, Beckwith addressed a wide range of topics, including school choice, religion, diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the constitution and cuts made to local and federal programs.




After the event, Beckwith spoke with local media members. During the conversation, Beckwith indicated that, despite the protest and contentious debate that happened during Tuesday's town hall, he will continue to participate in similar events.




"I think it was great," Beckwith said of the town hall. "It was packed, you know, big room. Both sides were represented pretty well. Obviously, it got a little chippy at times, but I like that. I think it's good for representatives of the people to get out and hear from them. And I'm gonna keep doing it because I think this is important, and the dialogue creates the conversations that help spur us, I think, in the right direction overall."




In his interview with media members after the town hall, Beckwith also provided additional thoughts on his commentary about the Three-Fifths Compromise.




Beckwith drew the ire of local religious groups and political leaders with comments he made about the Three-Fifths Compromise during a video he posted about Senate Bill 289. SB 289 pertained unlawful discrimination in Indiana.




At the time, Beckwith, in part, called the Three-Fifths Compromise "a great move by the North to make sure that slavery would be eradicated in our nation."




Indiana Governor Mike Braun had the following comments on Beckwith's stance on the Three-Fifths Compromise:




"I definitely wouldn't have used that characterization, and I don't like it," Braun said. "I'm a believer that you better start thinking about what you're saying before it comes out. So I'll leave it at that. And I think that you don't want to make headlines the wrong way because it takes away from the substance of what you're trying to do in general. That'll be the end of my comment on it."




During Tuesday's town hall, Beckwith indicated that the United States' education system failed to keep American's educated on the Three-Fifths Compromise.




"People think that I'm saying that the Three-Fifths of a person is a good thing," Beckwith said. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying the Three-Fifths Compromise spurred us in the right direction. It was a good thing for the foundations of our nation to get us on the path where we can actually get freedom and liberty for all people.




"The pushback I'm getting just kind of highlights that people don't know history. Our public education system has failed us dramatically when it comes to teaching proper history. And we have a lot of revisionist history professors and places around the nation and higher academic institutions and our public schools, and so what I'm doing is calling that out and pushing back on it because it's really important that we get it right or else we will not know where we need to go."




In addition to addressing his comments on the Three-Fifths Compromise, Beckwith also discussed the implications President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill may have on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.




Previous reporting indicates the Big Beautiful Bill could cut federal funding for SNAP benefits by $267 billion over a 10-year period. Some experts believe states will be expected to make up the funding gaps by shouldering 5% of the benefit costs and 75% of SNAP's administrative costs.




"Well, I think the senate will re-examine," Beckwith said. "From what I'm hearing, a lot of senators are pushing back on things just like that. So, let's not freak out yet until we know what the Senate is gonna do. I think there's like, you know, there's fraud going on. (Speaker of the House Mike Johnson) was basically saying, 'Hey, we've got a million people who are here illegally on things like Medicaid.' We've got able-bodied people that are that are taking advantage. Over 4 million people, able-bodied, that could go out and work but aren't working. They're taking advantage of things like Medicaid and SNAP.




"So, we gotta get down to the root cause and say, 'Hey, we want to help people, that's the heart of me, the Republican Party, I think all of us, Democrats, we want to help people. But the problem is when people are abusing the system, it takes precious resources and it actually starts hurting people who really need the help."




In addition to the town halls he has held, Beckwith has also hosted mobile office hours across the state. Beckwith's next scheduled mobile office hours will happen at 221 Low St. in Shoals, Indiana, on May 29. Beckwith's Martin County office hours will be conducted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.





via: https://fox59.com/news/demonstrators-gather-during-indiana-lt-governor-micah-beckwiths-town-hall-event-in-zionsville/