After former President Donald Trump was indicted in Georgia, Hoosiers politicians weighed in on the decision to charge him in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Here’s what they had to say:
Mike Pence
While granting that Trump and his 18 alleged co-conspirators are entitled to the presumption of innocence, Pence told a group of state lawmakers gathered at the National Conference of State Legislatures Wednesday in Indianapolis that “no one is above the law.”
“The Georgia election was not stolen, and I had no right to overturn the election on Jan. 6,” Pence said.
The former Indiana governor and former vice president is running in the Republican primary for the nation’s top job.
More:Pence: ‘Georgia election was not stolen’ during Indy stop. Here’s what else he said.
Sen. Todd Young
During a visit to Muncie, Indiana, Young said his party should move on from Trump and find a different candidate who can win in 2024.
The latest indictment, the Republican told reporters, was “more of the same.”
Sen. Mike Braun
Braun released a statement Wednesday saying the latest indictment is another example of President Joe Biden’s “weaponization” of the Department of Justice, which he said would “cause irreversible damage to our nation and divide us further.”
“Another week, another attempt by President Biden and his party’s prosecutors to put their leading political rival behind bars and interfere with the 2024 presidential election,” Braun said.
Braun is running for Indiana governor in 2024 in the Republican primary.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch
Crouch, who is also running for Indiana governor in the GOP primary, said if she’s elected, she will “never allow our courts to be weaponized against political opponents.”
“The criminal justice system’s war on conservatives continues unabated and without shame,” she said on Twitter.
Crouch is among several politicians, also including U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and former attorney general Curtis Hill, who Trump gave shoutouts to at the NRA convention in April in Indianapolis.
Curtis Hill
Also a Republican gubernatorial candidate, Hill called the Georgia indictment “politically motivated” and the charges “malicious and exaggerated.” He also said “Hoosiers stand behind” Trump.
“Democrat District Attorneys across America have their marching orders,” he said. “Find something, create something, anything at all to nail Trump or lose your Soros-funded re-election. You don’t decide someone is guilty and work backward to prove it. You’re supposed to follow the facts, something our friends on the left seem to forget.”
Eric Doden
While characterizing the Georgia indictment as another example of “using the legal system for political gain,” Doden, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, also said it’s a distraction from real issues at home.
“I’ve had enough of federal political theater and personality politics, and so have the voters I talk to,” the Fort Wayne businessman said. “We’re fed up. Using the legal system for political gain degrades both it and our entire election process. Indiana doesn’t need more politicians who obsess over political theater and personalities. We need leaders at the state level who will focus on real problems and real solutions for Hoosiers.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks
Banks, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, did not issue a formal statement, but tweeted this remark Tuesday: “They indicted Trump for tweeting…”
When contacted by IndyStar, a Banks spokesperson sent a statement from the congressman: “(Fulton County District Attorney) Fani Willis has undermined the rule of law for money and media attention. Democrats desperate to stop Trump from winning re-election will look back and regret this assault on our justice system.”
U.S. Rep. Larry Buschon
The Republican representative to Indiana’s 8th Congressional District tweeted that the latest indictment confirms a “massive double standard of justice.”
“The massive double standard of justice under the Dem run U.S. Dept. of Justice and the elected Dem DAs across this country is further confirmed with the recent indictments of Donald Trump. The liberal media are complicit. What they are doing is a serious risk to our country.”
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
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