Indiana's Shame
The refusal to ethically care for survivors was on full display at Indianapolis City-County Council Meeting
“You’re welcome to have me hauled out by sheriffs, but I am going to take my time,” said Lauren Roberts as she stood at the podium to address the Indianapolis City-County Council on the evening of Monday June 10, 2025.
This was a moment 10 years in the making.
She was able to read approximately 30 seconds of her prepared statement before she was indeed hauled out, forcibly pushed out of Council Chambers by sheriff deputies.
“When I joined Joe Hogsett’s campaign for mayor in 2014, I was 26, idealistic, and felt a sense of duty to be a positive force in my community,” Roberts details in her statement. “If I could tell my younger self what Joe Hogsett and his then campaign manager were about to put me through, I would tell her to run away and don’t look back.”
“I Kept Saying No” was published in the Indy Star in July of 2024. Written by Hayleigh Colombo and James Briggs, Lauren Roberts, Caroline Ellert, and a third woman, who chose to protect her identity, told their stories of years-long sexual abuse perpetrated by Hogsett’s right-hand-man, Thomas Cook.
Hogsett knew about Cook’s repeated inappropriate conduct as early as 2017, yet he did nothing. Cook remained behind Hogsett’s side, managing the mayor’s office and his campaigns until 2023. During that six years, three separate investigations were conducted, all determining Cook was at fault and still Hogsett did nothing.
A subsequent investigation was conducted by Fisher Phillips, an Ohio-based law firm. Their report was released at the end of May. It is clear by reading the report that this was not an investigation. An investigation begins with a question and evidence writes the story, evidence leads to a conclusion . This was a performative exercise that began with the conclusion that Hogsett is not responsible for any wrongdoing and then they worked backwards.
The most obvious sign of bias was the characterization of statements made by the victims and by Hogsett. When describing a victim statement, the report reads, “victim claims” or “victim alleges.” Hogsett’s statements, on the other hand, were described as, “Hogsett said” or “Hogsett stated.” Additionally, the entire investigation consisted of interviews, not depositions under oath, and Cook did not participate. Although the Council Committee had the power to subpoena Cook to compel his participation, they declined to do so.
Monday evening, approximately 30 seconds into her prepared statement, Council President Vop Osili ordered law enforcement to remove Roberts and her supporters from the chambers because she had exceeded the 2-minute time limit. What transpired over the following seconds were law enforcement placing their hands on Roberts and her supporters, pulling, pushing, and dragging them from the chambers, shoving someone who tried to protect the women, and a deputy attempting to push forcefully another woman by placing his hands on her breasts. It was a disgusting, traumatizing, and shameful display of brut force.
The media followed Roberts outside and gave her the space and the time the Council would not. She read her full prepared statement which took around 7 minutes.
Having attended my share of statutory meetings, I can tell you that sometimes the time limit is a godsend. However, in this case, it was clearly used as an arbitrary excuse to once again prevent a survivor from revealing the uncomfortable truth of how the elected officials in that room failed her and many others. Council was quick to enforce this 2-minute rule, but when it came to the rule that bans sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace, they looked the other way.
On the afternoon of June 10, Mayor Hogsett was giving 1:1 interviews to the media in response to what happened at the meeting and his position was clear: “I am not resigning.”
As of 9PM ET on June 10, there has been no official statement made by the Indiana Democratic Party. As fellow Hoosier and public relations extraordinaire Lindsay Haake said on our Instagram LIVE earlier today, “their silence is deafening.”
There is crucial, survivor-led work being done by Lauren, Caroline, and their supporters, that will continue regardless of the next move by the Indiana Dems. That next move, however, will make it clear one way or the other whether or not newly elected party leadership is actually new. Either they commit to holding perpetrators accountable or they do not. It’s not complicated. Will they continue to back the elected Democrats who perpetrate or enable abuse or will they truly stand on the side of survivors?
The next generation of Indiana’s Democrat leaders are restrained, told to wait their turn, so the party’s energy can be spent maintaining the status quo, praising predators and silencing survivors. When it finally is “their turn” will there even be a party that is worth representing?
I know this sounds cynical, and that’s not usually my style, but I’ll level with you, I hit Ctrl + X on quite a bit of highlighted doom before I hit “publish.” So at least give me credit for that.
Lauren Roberts writes a Substack called “insist on surviving.” It’s raw and therapeutic and educational. Please go read her work and consider subscribing.
