Staff Report

TheStatehouseFile.com

The Indiana Statehouse will be closed to the public next week and all legislative activities have been suspended due to national security threats expected from demonstrations to begin this weekend and continue to Inauguration Day.

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the move late Friday in a press release. The Statehouse will be closed to the public Tuesday and Wednesday, and lawmakers will not meet through the week of Jan. 18.

“After an evaluation with public safety leaders, we have decided to err on the side of caution and close the state government complex to the public,” Holcomb said. “Hoosiers will still be able to access essential state services online, on the phone, or in-person at branches around the state.”

The FBI has warned throughout this week the expected demonstrations leading up to Jan. 20—many falsely alleging President-Elect Joe Biden did not really win the election—could turn violent at state capitols. Talk of security threats began after a similar demonstration supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, an event that led to five deaths and destruction.

All of Indiana’s neighboring states,  Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois, are taking similar precautions.

Indiana leaders hinted at increasing security at the Statehouse this week, but did not provide many details. The latest announcement from the governor, and similar discussions by the FBI, reported there have been no credible threats against the Indiana Statehouse at this time.

“We have a lot of work to do this session on behalf of Hoosiers, but the safety of every person in the Statehouse is always our number one priority,” Senate President Pro Tem. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said in a statement.

House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, echoed Bray’s statement, saying “this decision was made out of caution and in the best interest of everyone involved in the legislative process.”

The governor is scheduled to give his annual State of the State address 7 p.m. Tuesday, but will do so virtually instead of during the traditional joint session of the Indiana legislature.

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