Indiana Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in IN

Scandal Categories
Indiana Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
Indiana Republican Executive Branch Scandals
Indiana Republican Judge Scandals
Indiana Republican State Legislator Scandals
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Mike BohacekState Senator [R-IN]

6/02/25
Stumbled out of his vehicle holding an alcoholic beverage in a fast-food restaurant parking lot at three in the afternoon and was pulled over a few miles away by police who found him "covered in food" in addition to other signs of inebriation and was later found to have a BAC over three times the legal limit after being taken to the hospital because he refused a field sobriety test, but wasn't arrested or charged for nearly six months because he claimed legislative immunity

According to charging documents filed by state officials
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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 fake consulting fees and then lied to federal officials when they questioned him about it

According to charging documents filed by federal officials
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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 press


According 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 order


According 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 himself


According 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 lot


According 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 anything


According 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 her


10/27/14
Threw a toilet lid at police officers and so violently resisted arrest that police had to deploy a stun gun to subdue him


10/27/14
Listed an address he didn't reside at on his candidacy application in violation of state law


10/27/14
Possessed 11,000 business cards that falsely said he was a state rep when he was in fact a private citizen


According 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 stop


According 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 occasion


According 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 creek


According 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 registration


According 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 room


According 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 drinks


12/21/20
Had 100+ felony images of children stored on his devices


According to charging documents filed by local officials
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John JessupCounty Commissioner [R-IN]

4/25/25
Sexually assaulted his own daughter whom he got so intoxicated on an extremely potent alcoholic drink on her 21st birthday that she had to be taken to her hotel room in a wheelchair so he could violate her


According 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 public


According 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 protection


According to a ruling by the judge overseeing his criminal trial
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Ken CampbellFmr. Sheriff [R-IN]

6/20/14
Had a multiyear extramarital affair with a woman he knew was a prostitute while also being married


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 over


According to charging documents filed by local officials
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Kyle HupferFmr. Indiana GOP Chair
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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 him


According to an exclusive report by The Statehouse File