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Indianapolis-based church joins lawsuit challenging arrests made inside houses of worship

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Indianapolis-based church joins lawsuit challenging arrests made inside houses of worship


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  • Two Indiana-based churches are challenging the Trump administration’s policy allowing arrests and raids in houses of worship
  • The Indiana churches named in the lawsuit were Disciples of Christ, based out of Indianapolis, and Mennonite Church USA, based out of Elkhart.
  • “We don’t take this step lightly, but this extreme action from the federal government challenges a foundation of our faith and threatens to shatter our consecrated spaces,” said Rev. Terri Hord Owens.

Weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration implemented a policy that allowed immigration enforcement agents to conduct arrests inside places of worship, a joint lawsuit was filed against the administration by dozens of religious and advocacy groups, including two Indiana churches.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 11, claims that the administration’s decision to allow immigration enforcement agencies to execute arrests and raids without judicial warrants inside of “sensitive locations” such as places of worship violates these groups’ rights to religious freedom and has caused a decrease in worship attendance and social services participation due to fear of immigration enforcement action.

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The Indiana churches named in the lawsuit were Disciples of Christ, based out of Indianapolis, and Mennonite Church USA, based out of Elkhart.

“We don’t take this step lightly, but this extreme action from the federal government challenges a foundation of our faith and threatens to shatter our consecrated spaces,” Rev. Terri Hord Owens, general minister and president of Disciples of Christ, said in a statement about the lawsuit.

“Our faith compels us to take a stand and protect our places of worship.”

The lawsuit claims that the administration’s decision to allow such raids has had a lasting impact on places of worship across the county and highlights the impact of an immigration arrest inside a Georgia church earlier this year.

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ICE agents had entered a Pentecostal church in Georgia in order to arrest Wilson Velásquez, a migrant from Honduras, who escaped the country with his wife and three children in 2022 and was in the process of seeking asylum in the United States.

Velásquez had entered the country illegally but immediately turned himself and his family into U.S. custody after crossing the border in order to seek asylum.

As part of the process, an immigration judge placed a GPS-tracking monitor on Velásquez’s ankle.

The lawsuit claims that Velásquez had attended all of his scheduled appointments with the immigration court, but “ICE agents arrested him anyway, explaining that they were simply “looking for people with ankle bracelets.”

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The pastor of that church claimed that after the arrest he could see “the fear and tears on (his congregation) faces.”

“We take seriously the command in Scripture to welcome the stranger (Leviticus 19:33-34 NRSV), and Jesus’ teaching that whenever we minister to one of the least of these, we are ministering to him,” Owens’ statement reads.

On Monday, in a similar lawsuit, a federal judge blocked immigration agents conducting arrests in houses of worship for a number of religious groups.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang believed that the Trump administration policy could be violating churches’ religious freedom and noted that arrests should be blocked until these lawsuit challenges are completed.

Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.

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Indianapolis, IN

Cooler temps Friday with some afternoon sun, warmer weekend | March 27, 2026

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Cooler temps Friday with some afternoon sun, warmer weekend | March 27, 2026


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) – All of the rain has moved off to the south and east of us. Cooler temperatures have settled in and will be here through the first part of the weekend. We warm back up late in the weekend and into much of next week.

Moderate to heavy rain fell yesterday and into the overnight hours. Some locations across parts of Central Indiana picking up an inch or two of rainfall. This will definitely help where drought conditions are in place for northern sections of Indiana.

TODAY: We will hang on to you some cloud cover early this morning before more sunshine peeks out later in the afternoon. Look for breezy conditions with winds out of the North and Northeast gusting at times near 20 mph. Temperatures later this afternoon will be right around 48 degrees.

TONIGHT: If you are heading to the Pacers game or the home opener of the Indianapolis Indians you will not need the rain gear. Bring along the layers though because we will see chilly conditions. Either at first pitch or pregame those temperatures will be into the middle forties. Readings will fall around 28 degrees overnight under mostly clear skies. 

TOMORROW: You will need the jacket in the morning early Saturday however with lots of sunshine for the afternoon temperatures warm up a little bit more. It will be seasonally cool with light and variable winds and high temperatures near 50. 

7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: Clouds increase on your Sunday Look for partly cloudy skies with high temperatures a little warmer. Look for readings right around 61. 

Temperatures continue to climb heading into next week. Look for a partly to mostly cloudy sky Monday with highs near 71. On Tuesday we get close to 80° but our rain chances do increase especially late Tuesday. We’ll see temperatures above normal with more rain possible on Wednesday and Thursday.



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Colts free agent running back signs with Atlanta Falcons

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Colts free agent running back signs with Atlanta Falcons


ATLANTA (WISH) — Tyler Goodson, who played for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons, is joining a new team.

The Atlanta Falcons announced on Thursday that they have signed the free agent running back.

Goodson appeared in 33 games during his time in Indy, rushing for a total of 234 yards. He had one rushing touchdown back in 2024.

The rushing touchdown came during the Colts’ win over the Miami Dolphins that season. The rushing touchdown in that matchup was Goodson’s first career NFL touchdown during the regular season.

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“For me it was a lot more exciting,” Goodson said following that game. “A moment I’ve been waiting for and it’s just surreal for me to be in this position. And I just thank God for it.”

Goodson also had 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown with the Colts. The receiving touchdown also came during the 2024 season, in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The move to the Falcons will be a homecoming of sorts for Goodson, who is a native of Suwanee, Georgia. He also attended North Gwinnett High School.



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Butler PD seeks help identifying suspects in Hinkle Fieldhouse break-in

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Butler PD seeks help identifying suspects in Hinkle Fieldhouse break-in


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Butler University Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying a group of people who broke into and vandalized Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The incident happened sometime Saturday, according to a post from Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana.

Security camera video of the group – four males and one female – shows them entering the fieldhouse through a side door, entering one at a time before turning and disappearing out of view.

Crime Stoppers says the group vandalized a concession stand, stole alcoholic drinks, and then stole a $12,000 headset. Butler PD estimates the stolen communication equipment is valued at around $15,000.

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Anyone with information was asked to contact Crime Stoppers. Officials say a reward of up to $1,000 will be offered for details leading to any arrests.



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