EXCLUSIVE: Indiana students protest Attorney General during a campus visit

Nearly 40 students rallied at Indiana University at Bloomington (IU) to protest Attorney General Todd Rokita during his campus speech last Friday.

The College Democrats at IU organized the protest, Noah Johnson told Campus Reform. Videos show protesters standing in two single file lines outside of the building holding signs that advocate for abortion. 

Signs featured slogans including “Abortion saves lives,” “misogyny kills more people than abortion,” and “their uterus has more regulations than your guns.” 

Several protesters made their way inside the event bearing signs that demanded “queer rights” and labeled Rokita a “fascist.”

Kyle Reynolds, Campus Coordinator of the IU Turning Point USA chapter which sponsored the event, told Campus Reform that the protest remained peaceful, however, the protesters allegedly had to be silenced multiple times throughout the speech.

“[They] began holding signs to begin with, then they began shouting statements referring to the Attorney General as a fascist, referring to him as a racist trying to take away their rights,” he recalled.

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Rokita touched on a number of topics during his speech, including federal overreach, state rights, and constitutional liberties, Reynolds stated.

“[He’s a] very influential member of our state government, and one that has been in public life for well over a decade now,” Reynolds said. “So we thought he was an important voice to bring on to campus and could offer students a perspective that they’re not often exposed to.”

Rokita has been influential in putting Indiana in the national news by being a driving force behind conservative efforts to institute abortion bans, as well as block biological men from competing in women’s sports.

Indiana’s abortion ban went into effect on Sept. 15, making it one of 14 states that have implemented strong restrictions on abortion access. Senate Bill 1 issued a ban on all elective abortions and granted exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother.

The bill, however, was temporarily suspended by a judge on Sept. 22, which allowed abortion clinics in the Hoosier state to re-open their doors.

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Earlier this year, the Indiana legislature resuscitated House Bill 1041, which prohibited biological males from competing in women’s sports, by overriding the governor’s veto. The bill was, again, put on pause after a federal court granted a preliminary injunction to allow a minor on an all-girls softball team.

Rokita, however, filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Sept. 8 asking the injunction to be revoked.

“He talked about his office’s role in enforcing that bill,” Reynolds said. “That was something that was heavily protested, as well. I believe when that topic came up, we did have to silence the protesters a few times.”

Reynolds said that despite small disruptions, the chapter accomplished its goal in inviting Rokita to speak.

“We were happy that although there were some disruptions, he was able to…speak his message and we were able to educate a number of students,” Reynolds concluded.

Campus Reform contacted IU and Rokita for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

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