Indianapolis, IN

‘Time to wake up’: more than 4,000 Hoosiers protest Trump administration at Statehouse

Published

7 months ago

June 14, 2025

‘Time to wake up’: more than 4,000 Hoosiers protest Trump administration at Statehouse

The Indianapolis “No Kings” protest in opposition to President Donald Trump drew more than 4,000 people from across the state to the Indiana Statehouse on June 14.

Organized by the volunteer-led 50501 movement, the peaceful protest focused on Trump’s policies surrounding immigration, the LGBTQ+ community, and deep cuts to federal spending by the Department of Government Efficiency. Many protesters criticized Trump’s disregard for democratic processes, citing times when he’s insulted judges and attempted to circumvent their orders.

The rally in Indianapolis was one of more than 1,500 across the country and took place ahead of Trump’s $40 million military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250^th birthday.

Protesters withstood a deluge of rain and humidity to hear speakers who ranged from veterans to state lawmakers. An organizer told IndyStar that they had counted 4,158 protesters with a clicker when protesters first started marching shortly after noon, but said many stayed behind on the lawn and were not counted. Organizers estimated there were an additional 2,000-3,000 attendees throughout the course of the event.

One protester detained in dispute with counter-protester

Indianapolis police detained a protester just 20 minutes into the event when the protester ripped a pro-Trump flag from a counter-protester. The counter-protester chased the man, falling and scuffing his elbow and knee.

IndyStar reporters did not see any other significant disputes during the three-hour event. Organizers encouraged protesters to remain peaceful, pointing to a bucket of whistles for protesters to use to alert others if they landed in a confrontation.

No paid agitators, state organizer says

Scott Johnson, state organizer for the 50501 movement, wore a shirt with the words “unpaid protester,” a nod to the familiar claim that protesters are paid to attend political events.

Johnson, 57, said he funded the event with his own money and that none of the attendees were paid.

The Fishers resident attended his first protest in February, when he saw a 50501 organizer handing out snacks. He offered the organizer money for the snacks and quickly became connected with the movement, becoming the state organizer when the previous leader left.

Johnson said it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to him.

“It felt like I had found a home,” he said.

Protesters come from an array of backgrounds

A Vietnam war veteran. A first-generation American. A former Trump voter.

IndyStar spoke with people who had a variety of reasons for attending the June 14 protest.

One was safety and security volunteer Joe Stuteville, a 68-year-old Vietnam veteran and former military police officer from Indianapolis. He said he fears democracy is in danger.

“This has been sneaking up on us for years and people have been sleeping,” he said. “Time to wake up.”

Stuteville said he views the size of the military parade in Washington, D.C., as unnecessary.

“Speaking as a veteran, we don’t need military parades,” he said. Instead, many veterans carry a sense of pride and honor within, he said.

Another protester, Janet Orozco, held an anti-MAGA sign written in Spanish.

“As a first-(generation American), I want to represent those before me,” she told IndyStar through tears. “It’s personal for me.”

Though protesters were united against Trump’s actions, their political ideologies differed.

Leland Lindahl, an independent, said he voted for Trump in 2020.

“As soon as January 6 hit, I immediately regretted it,” Lindahl said.

The 47-year-old from Noblesville grew up in a conservative, Christian community and voted for Republicans throughout his life. His first time voting for a Democrat was in 2024.

While he doesn’t agree with everything some of the protesters believe, Lindahl said he came to the Statehouse because he didn’t want to sit on his couch and complain — he wanted to take action.

Crowd remains despite downpour

What was a smattering of rain throughout the event became a persistent downpour shortly before 2 p.m. The crowd remained, albeit reduced, with people seeking refuge under trees, umbrellas and ponchos.

Annie Bowling, 46, was one of hundreds of protesters who withstood the weather.

“This is a testament to people in Indiana, one of the reddest states,” she said, holding a rain-soaked sign that had stained her hands red. “That shows you that we will not be deterred by some weather because we know what’s at stake.”

Bowling drove to Indianapolis from Bloomington to attend both the protest and Indy Pride, which took place the same day, to, as she said, stand up for the LGBTQ community and other people at risk due to Trump’s policies.

“They’re coming for everyone and everyone’s freedoms and everyone’s rights,” Bowling said. “The sooner people realize that and stand up for that, the better chance we have stopping this in early stages.”

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Indianapolis, IN

Meet The Indiana University Indianapolis Librarian Billy Tringali

Published

3 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Meet The Indiana University Indianapolis Librarian Billy Tringali

Photo by Michael Schrader

BILLY TRINGALI’S OFFICE at IU Indianapolis feels more like a Comic-Con booth than an academic’s hidey hole. Posters of saucer-eyed anime and manga heroes cover every vertical surface, and memorabilia line every horizontal one. “It’s like an open-air museum,” Tringali says. “There’s not an inch of wall that’s not covered.”

Tringali is IU’s instruction librarian for undergraduate health sciences, which sounds pretty buttoned up. Until he starts talking about what it entails. “I teach students to hunt things down,” he says. “I do basic AI literacy training. Essentially explaining that you don’t just trust what a chatbot says, because it’s probably lying to you.”

But that’s only part of the story. In addition to his day job, Tringali is also founder and editor of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies, which makes him arguably one of the world’s leading voices in the scholarly study of the subject.Anime has exploded in the U.S., fueled in part by its omnipresence on streaming services such as Netflix. And manga with titles like My Hero Academia and One Piece are wildly popular among younger readers. Well, not just younger readers. Plenty of grown-ups read them too.

Tringali says people are attracted to anime and manga for simple reasons: accessibility and variety. There’s decades’ worth of materials to read and watch, with subject matter ranging from horror, to adventure, to esoteric philosophic ramblings—sometimes all three in the same work. “Whatever interests you, it exists in anime, and there is a massive backlog for you to explore,” Tringali says. “Anime and manga can be powerful teaching tools for enhancing cultural understanding and improving language skills.”

In addition to reading and watching pretty much everything in the anime/manga world, he’s also analyzed this corner of the pop culture universe in great detail. His journal is the only open access academic periodical that exclusively publishes works discussing the worlds of anime, manga, cosplay, and their fans. What began as a graduate school project now attracts scholars and aficionados from around the world. Every year, Tringali helps run a standing-room-only academic conference at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. “We pack the house,” he says. “Fans are really, really hungry for academic analysis of popular culture.”

His influence is such that within the community he’s known as the anime apostle. He got hooked on the genre early, spending his childhood sitting on his grandmother’s “horrendously purple” living room rug watching endless episodes of Pokémon. When he realized his local library didn’t offer manga, he established a substantial collection simply by donating books from his own trove. “I watched them all being cataloged and thought, Oh, this is going to be a huge problem for me,” Tringali recalls.

Today, his enthusiasm burns just as hot as it did during his Jigglypuff-besotted youth. He channels his devotion by helping students see not only the academic value in his favorite pop culture genre but also the importance of other subcultures. For instance, he’s developing a student sewing circle for cosplay fans who dress up as characters to learn how to sew their own costumes. For the anime apostle, it’s all about spreading the word.

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Indianapolis, IN

More big temperature swings this week

Published

15 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Our Monday brings clouds, but we’re also expecting many hours of sunshine to brighten things up. Winds turn more out of the west, which will allow us to warm temperatures back above average. Afternoon highs reach into the lower 40s.

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The “warm-up” doesn’t last too long. A midweek system brings the chance for rain and snow showers followed by more typical January temperatures.

Indianapolis Weather Forecast:
Monday: Sun and clouds. High: 42°
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. Showers possible. High: 50°
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain/snow showers. High: 42°

Indianapolis 7-Day Weather Forecast

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Indianapolis, IN

IU Indianapolis visits Milwaukee on 7-game road skid

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

IU Indianapolis visits Milwaukee on 7-game road skid

IU Indianapolis Jaguars (4-14, 0-7 Horizon League) at Milwaukee Panthers (7-10, 3-3 Horizon League)

Milwaukee; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Panthers -9.5; over/under is 166.5

BOTTOM LINE: IU Indianapolis will look to end its seven-game road skid when the Jaguars face Milwaukee.

The Panthers have gone 5-2 at home. Milwaukee ranks third in the Horizon League in rebounding with 34.1 rebounds. Faizon Fields leads the Panthers with 6.1 boards.

The Jaguars are 0-7 in Horizon League play. IU Indianapolis allows 90.1 points to opponents while being outscored by 5.1 points per game.

Milwaukee scores 77.4 points per game, 12.7 fewer points than the 90.1 IU Indianapolis gives up. IU Indianapolis averages 5.6 more points per game (85.0) than Milwaukee allows to opponents (79.4).

The Panthers and Jaguars square off Sunday for the first time in Horizon League play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Isaiah Dorceus is averaging 5.8 points and 4.2 assists for the Panthers. Danilo Jovanovich is averaging 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 55.4% over the last 10 games.

Kyler D’Augustino is scoring 17.8 points per game with 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the Jaguars. Jaxon Edwards is averaging 10.4 points and 1.9 steals over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-6, averaging 74.2 points, 33.9 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.0 points per game.

Jaguars: 2-8, averaging 79.1 points, 28.4 rebounds, 20.2 assists, 9.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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