Indiana

US Supreme Court turns away challenge to Indiana University bias reporting policy

Published

10 months ago

March 3, 2025

US Supreme Court turns away challenge to Indiana University bias reporting policy

By John Kruzel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court turned away on Monday a conservative group’s challenge on free speech grounds to Indiana University’s policy for monitoring and reporting what the school considers to be bias-motivated incidents.

The justices declined to hear Washington-based group Speech First’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling denying its request to block the university’s policy as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections against government abridgment of speech. Indiana University is a public school.

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The issue of free speech on college and university campuses has become a flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars, with some liberals citing the need to counter hate speech and some conservatives saying schools have enacted policies aimed at silencing views on the right.

Speech First, which on its website says it is dedicated to fighting “toxic censorship culture on college campuses,” has sued at least nine universities over their speech policies. Its 2024 lawsuit against Indiana University President Pamela Whitten and other school officials sought to block enforcement of the bias incident reporting policy. The school’s main campus is located in Bloomington, Indiana.

The policy defines “bias incidents” as “any conduct, speech or expression motivated in whole or in part by bias or prejudice meant to intimidate, demean, mock, degrade, marginalize or threaten individuals or groups based on that individual or group’s actual or perceived identities,” according to court records.

Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the court’s decision not to hear the appeal. Thomas said he would have taken it up to resolve a split among lower federal appeals courts in handling legal challenges to college bias-response policies.

“Given the number of schools with bias-response teams, this court eventually will need to resolve the split over a student’s right to challenge such programs,” Thomas wrote.

Under Indiana University’s policy, students are asked to submit a report to alert the university if they experience, witness or are aware of a bias incident.

“Indiana University is committed to creating welcoming, inclusive, and respectful campus communities where everyone can thrive and do their best work – a place where all are treated with civility and respect,” the university states on its website.

In the lawsuit, Speech First said the policy violated the First Amendment rights of its student members at Indiana University. The group also said the speech standards defined in the policy were so vague as to deprive students of their constitutional right to understand what conduct is prohibited.

The university’s bias incidents policy marshals the authority of university administrators “to police speech that someone believes is motivated by ‘bias,’” the lawsuit states. “This policy poses a grave risk of chilling the open and unfettered discourse that should be central to higher education.”

The group said that students accused of “bias incidents” can be referred for formal disciplinary proceedings, but school officials disputed this in court papers.

U.S. District Judge James Hanlon in August 2024 denied Speech First’s request to block Indiana University’s policy, finding that the group lacked the necessary legal standing to bring their legal challenge. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2024 upheld Hanlon’s ruling, prompting Speech First’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court in March 2024 sidestepped Speech First’s challenge to Virginia Tech University’s policy for monitoring and reporting allegations of bias against LGBT people, racial minorities, religious groups and others.

(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Indiana

FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where

Published

3 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where

At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.

FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.

Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.

Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”

“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.

Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.

Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.

In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.

The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.

In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”

IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.

Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.

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Indiana

Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026

Published

15 hours ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures in Central Indiana are expected to remain above normal through late this week, with highs near 60 degrees expected by Thursday and Friday. Rain showers are predicted from Thursday through Friday night, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.

Today:

Dry and mild, with high temperatures ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s. Just a mix of sun and clouds with light winds should make for a pleasant afternoon.

Tonight:

Lows in the mid 30s to low 40s, with patchy drizzle or fog possible late.

Tuesday:

Mostly cloudy skies and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph, elevating highs into the lower to middle 50s. A few light showers will be possible through the day as well.

Wednesday:

Should be the best day of the week, featuring more sunshine and lighter winds, with highs in the low to mid 50s.

Late week storm system:

Highs on Thursday and Friday are set to approach 60°, which will be pushing a few records across the state.

A warm front moving through Thursday evening will spark scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms across the area starting Thursday afternoon.

A stronger storm or two can’t be ruled out.

Showers will continue into the first half of Friday, before the cold front pushes out of the state later in the day.

As the weekend approaches, the cold front will move through, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Conditions will become cooler and breezy, with spotty flurries possible as temperatures return to seasonal norms for this time of year.

Looking ahead, the weekend is expected to bring a return to cooler temperatures and near-seasonal norms, with potential light snow flurries in the forecast as a cold front passes through Central Indiana.

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Indiana

Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal

BLOOMINGTON — Curt Cignetti reinforced his running back rotation, which will need an offseason makeover due to eligibility related attrition, on Sunday with the commitment of Boston College running back Turbo Richard according to multiple media outlets.

Richard helps relieve the stress created by the departures of Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading rushers in 2025, both of whom will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the current season. Cignetti and his staff add Richard to a running back room already anchored around Lee Beebe Jr., returning from injury, and Khobie Martin, the one-time Fishers star who flashed meaningful potential this season.

Here’s what to know about IU’s newest running back:

Turbo Richard provides proven production

Indiana has, in Cignetti’s two seasons in Bloomington, shown a repeated desire to add skill players who’ve shown impact in numbers and film. Richard fits that bill.

Across two seasons in Chestnut Hill, he posted 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, with another 275 yards receiving and two more touchdowns through the air.

Last season, Richard accounted for 962 total yards and 11 scores.

He’s shown explosiveness too: Richard posted at least one carry of 10-plus yards in seven different games last season, with single-game highs of 18, 43, 46 and 71 yards.

How much eligibility does Turbo Richard have remaining?

Cignetti often refers to players with more than one year of eligibility remaining as more valuable in the portal. His program will get as many as two from Richard.

Additionally, the Charlotte native played right away at Boston College, in 2024, meaning he has a redshirt year if he needs it for any reason as well.

Fit to type

Listed at 5-8, 207 pounds, Richard looks on film a lot like the kind of back Indiana has had success with in Cignetti’s tenure.

He’s quick and nimble enough to get involved in the pass game, but powerful enough to make an impact between the tackles. He also shows excellent burst — as evidenced by those explosive numbers — potentially replacing the second- and third-level burst that made Black and Hemby so dangerous this season.

Indiana led the Big Ten in rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. Richard profiles as the kind of back that can help sustain that production into 2026.

Back rotation settled?

It’s not clear exactly where Beebe stands in his recovery from a season-ending injury suffered in September. If IU is confident in his return to form, coupled to Martin’s development, this could wind up as Indiana’s running back rotation into next season.

The Hoosiers have reportedly hosted other portal running backs, so it’s possible IU isn’t done here. But especially given Martin’s flashes this season (74 carries, 463 yards, six TDs), if Indiana is settled here, then the Hoosiers appear to have handed position coach John Miller another healthy stable of backs to build a run game around.

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