Indianapolis, IN
School Psychologist Arrested for Obstruction in Anti-Israel Protest
A psychologist for Indianapolis Public Schools was among those held when police arrested 14 masked adults who officers said were blocking traffic late last month just outside the Governor’s Residence in the state capital.
The school psychologist, Karisa Cole, and the other arrested protesters were charged with obstructing traffic April 25 at 10:30 a.m. on Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
In public statements that morning, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department warned that although peaceful protesting is constitutionally protected, blocking traffic violates Indiana law.
After brief remarks and a collective chant calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, to divest from doing business with Israel, the protesters crossed into Meridian Street and blocked traffic.
When police officers arrived, they asked the protesters to leave the roadway multiple times. When the protesters didn’t move, officers arrested the 14 obstructers, who began to sing as officers pulled them off the street.
Cole, 45, appears to own several social media accounts that advertise her employment as a school psychologist by Indianapolis Public Schools since 2020. They include multiple anti-Israeli and antisemitic posts, including promotion of the ethnic-cleansing motto of the Hamas terrorist organization, “From the River to the Sea.” (This motto calls for Jews west of the Jordan River to be swept violently into the Mediterranean Sea to make room for the Islamic State of Palestine).
Cole’s Instagram account, marked by “she/they” personal pronouns, includes instructions for teachers to “adopt social justice and anti-racist teaching skills” when “teaching about Palestine in the classroom.”
Cole warned teachers not to put Israel and Palestine on the “same level,” accusing Israel of being an apartheid state that is “committing an ethnic cleansing.”
Cole also encouraged teachers not to describe Hamas as “extremist” or “terrorist.” She accused those who do so of racism “against Muslim or POC [people of color] communities.”
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other NATO countries since 1997.
Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200, torturing or raping many first, and taking over 200 hostages. Ever since, the Israeli military has targeted the adjacent Gaza Strip—where Hamas is the elected government and uses civilians as shields—with the goal of “eradicating” the terrorist group.
The Daily Signal obtained Cole’s booking photograph and other public information about her arrest from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Indianapolis Public Schools did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on whether the school district was aware of Cole’s arrest or what if any action it has taken as a result.
The Indianapolis Center for Inquiry School 70, the building where Cole works, lists her as a school psychologist on its staff page.
Cole didn’t respond to requests for comment and confirmation that she owns the social media accounts cited above. However, the school psychologist’s LinkedIn account was deleted after The Daily Signal reached out.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire
The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”
The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.
Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.
“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.
Councilman Ron Gibson
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.
“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.
The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.
“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.
A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.
Indianapolis, IN
Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.
In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.
“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.
Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.
“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”
Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.
“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”
Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.
Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”
A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.
In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors
“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.
“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.
Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.
Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.
As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
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