Indiana Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in IN

Indiana Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
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Gabe WhitleyFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate
1/09/25
Filed three campaign finance reports that falsely claimed he had raised $222,690 for and loaned $100k to his "Honest Gabe for Congress" campaign to give the illusion he had popular supportAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Larry Savage JrFmr. U.S. Rep Candidate
10/29/24
Was caught on video stuffing two ballots into his sweatshirt pocket that he could later use to cast fraudulent votes during a public testing of local voting machinesAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Steve BuyerFmr. U.S. Representative33 Years in GOP
9/19/23
Illegally made more than $126,000 in profit after receiving confidential information about T-Mobile's intention to acquire Sprint from a T-Mobile executive at a golf outingIllegally profited more than $223,000 by acting on insider information to purchase shares of Navigant Consulting stock shortly before it was acquired by another consulting firmAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
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Mark SouderFmr. U.S. Representative
5/18/10
Had a yearslong affair with a married staffer who he hypocritically filmed a video singing the praises of abstinence withAccording to his resignation statement in which he admitted to the affair
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Victoria SpartzU.S. Representative [R-IN]
7/01/24
Packed a handgun in her carryon bag and was caught by airport security when she went through a security checkAccording to charging documents filed by state officials
Indiana Republican Executive Branch Scandals
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Curtis HillFmr. Att. General [R-IN]
5/11/20
Drunkenly walked up and grabbed a legislative assistant's buttocks and told her and the group of women she was standing with that they'll "have to show a little skin!" if they wanted free drinks, creepily rubbed another legislative assistant's back for over two minutes and inappropriately touched a state lawmaker and another legislative assistant all at the same party which resulted in the state Supreme Court reprimanding him for committing the "criminal act of battery" and suspending him for 30 daysAccording to a final ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court
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10/03/22
Repeatedly solicited sexual favors from a young woman who worked in the state secretary of state's officeAccording to the alleged victim who spoke with TheStatehouseFile.com
10/03/22
Tried to pin down and kiss a woman he invited to his apartment, but she was able to escape before he could harm her furtherAccording to the alleged victim who spoke with TheStatehouseFile.comPinned a young woman against the wall and rubbed his body against hers as he tried to kiss her and rip her shirt offAccording to the alleged victim who spoke with TheStatehouseFile.com
Indiana Republican Judge Scandals
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Sabrina BellFmr. State Judge [R-IN]
5/12/22
Struck her ex-husband in the face in front of their children after she initiated a verbal argument with himAccording to charging documents filed by local police5/01/19
Drunkenly flicked off and engaged in a verbal altercation with two men in another vehicle while parked outside of a White Castle restaurant around 3:15 am which escalated dramatically after two of her male colleagues were shot by one of the men following a night of heavy drinking while attending a judicial conferenceAccording to reports by local media
Indiana Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Brent WaltzFmr. State Senator [R-IN]
9/29/20
Illegally funneled $40,500 in campaign contributions from an Indiana casino through "straw donors" who were reimbursed through faked consulting feesHe pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison -
Jud McMillinFmr. State Representative
9/30/15
Shared a sexually explicit video via text message to multiple people and abruptly resigned days later after the video was leaked to the pressAccording to an exclusive report by Indy Star
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James SchenkeFmr. State Rep. Nominee
11/04/24
Illegally contacted a victim who had a protective order against him and was arrested by police after they determined he violated the orderAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Jim LucasState Representative
2/01/24
Exposed his holstered concealed firearm to a group of students visiting the state capitol to advocate for new gun control legislation while lecturing them about his right to defend himselfAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
5/31/23
Fled the scene of a violent single-car crash that flattened three tires and heavily damaged his car because he was under the influence of alcohol, tried to hide his mangled truck behind a local store over three miles away from the scene of his crash and lied to police that he parked it there because he didn't want to leave an oil leak stain in the main parking lotAccording to charging documents filed by local police
Indiana Republican Mayor Scandals
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John CouchFmr. Mayor Candidate
4/05/23
Loaded his truck with stolen large scrap metal objects including an air conditioner, furnace and water heater (the latter of which a police officer caught him loading into his truck) from the dumpster area of a heating and cooling company which had signs posted in multiple areas explicitly warning people against taking anythingAccording to charging documents filed by local police
10/27/14
Trailed and harassed Democratic state rep Karlee Macer at least six times and sent a number of threatening emails and calls to her personal cellphone over a six-month period including one time when he approached her at the tax services center he worked at to let her know he "knew everything" about her10/27/14
Threw a toilet lid at police officers and so violently resisted arrest that police had to deploy a stun gun to subdue him10/27/14
10/27/14
Possessed 11,000 business cards that falsely said he was a state rep when he was in fact a private citizenAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
Indiana Republican City Official Scandals
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Jeff MillerFmr. City Council Member
8/15/18
Rubbed his hands in-between the thighs of a 10-year-old girl, cupped her buttocks, put his hands up her shirt and gave her massages with a battery-powered device that wasn't remotely age-appropriate while ignoring her repeated pleas for him to stopAccording to charging documents filed by local police
8/15/18
Cupped a 10-year-old girls buttocks while giving her a piggyback ride at his home on more than one occasionAccording to news reports from credible media outlets
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Andrew WilhoiteFmr. City Council Nominee
5/06/22
Murdered his wife by forcefully striking her in the head with a flower pot and then dumped her in a nearby creekAccording to charging documents filed by local police
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Brian YoungFmr. City Council Member
4/06/22
Illegally voted in multiple elections and even represented a district he didn't actually live in after using his parents address as his own on his voter registrationAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
Other Indiana Republican Scandals
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Trent HinkleCommissioner [R-IN]
3/01/23
Threw his phone in a rage and struck his less than 14-year-old foster child in the leg resulting in a cut and bruise during an argument over not cleaning their roomAccording to a police report filed by local officials
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Steven SumnerFmr. County Commissioner
12/21/20
Performed sexual acts on a female minor and tried to get her to do the same to him after providing her alcoholic drinks12/21/20
According to charging documents filed by local officials
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John JessupCounty Commissioner [R-IN]
11/14/24
Sexually assaulted an unconscious woman who was so intoxicated that she had to be taken to her hotel room in a wheelchair after he "kept feeding" her an extremely potent alcoholic drink long after she asked him to give her water insteadAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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Jamey NoelFmr. Sheriff [R-IN]
10/15/24
Fraudulently charged over $5 million on personal expenses including more than 130 luxury and classic cars which he then sold and pocketed the proceeds from, $60k worth of airline tickets for a woman he was having an extramarital affair with and other family members including his wife, vacations, designer clothes and a multitude of other expenses using fire department credit cards funded and paid for by the publicAccording to charging documents filed by state officials
4/09/24
Illegally purchased or retained two apparently "brand new" handguns and ammunition in violation of a judge's order to hand over all firearms he owned outside of a single shotgun he was allowed to keep for personal protectionAccording to a ruling by the judge overseeing his criminal trial
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Ken CampbellFmr. Sheriff [R-IN]
6/20/14
According to reporting by local and state outlets
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Terry JudyFmr. Sheriff Candidate
4/21/22
Stayed at a stop sign for "an abnormal length of time" at 1:30am before driving into oncoming traffic and nearly crashing head-on into another vehicle and had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath and couldn't answer simple questions after getting pulled overAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
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10/03/22
Kept secret credible sexual assault allegations against the Republican Secretary of State for over a month ostensibly to protect himAccording to an exclusive report by The Statehouse File