Statement From the Indiana Democratic Party

The Indiana Democratic Party released the following statement Wednesday from Chair Karen Tallian regarding the ongoing sexual harassment complaints and Indianapolis City-County Council (CCC) investigation.

“Within days of each other, I watched two startling events unfold on video. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was strong-armed out of a Republican-controlled press conference by law enforcement, shoved to the ground, and handcuffed. Americans watched in outrage. At the June 9, 2025 City-County Council meeting in Indianapolis, controlled by Democrats, multiple women were forcibly shoved out of a public meeting, while Hoosiers watched in outrage. Both of these incidents were appalling to watch and excruciating to acknowledge. 

I have seen peaceful protesters be silenced and bullied by police, judges, and law enforcement officers. America witnessed the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War protests, as people like Alabama Governor George Wallace and Judge Julius Hoffman became symbols of oppression. 

Forcibly removing people from a public meeting is not the way we fix our problems and settle our issues in a democratic society. This applies to both parties! 

Councilor Vop Osili has, hopefully, learned a valuable lesson in how to not conduct a meeting. Unlike Kristi Noem, however, he apologized.”

IDP ACTIONS

“In 2024, then IDP Chair Mike Schmuhl took positive action and began the task of creating a Code of Conduct that would govern the state party, its employees, and other members of the Democratic Party. The Code of Conduct was adopted by the State Central Committee in December, 2024.

Following the March, 2025 party reorganization, as the new Chair, I immediately appointed members to the newly-formed Ethics Committee. In coordination with the Rules Committee, the Ethics Committee promptly created a procedure by which complaints involving Code of Conduct violations could be submitted and reviewed. This was adopted in May, 2025. 

With regard to the conduct of Thomas Cook, IDP wholeheartedly condemns sexual harassment of any kind, and believes that the institutional culture that perpetuates this should be finally rooted out everywhere. We believe everyone should feel safe in the workplace. No formal complaint against Cook has ever been filed with IDP.

IDP has taken the following steps to provide a safe working environment: 

1. Unionized our staff, with the contract listing code of conduct parameters; 
2. Retained an outside human resources firm;
3. Updated our employee handbook, which we require all employees to sign. The handbook details the process to report any unwanted behavior to our outside human resources firm;
4. Required all employees to complete sexual harassment training that is specifically tailored to people working in politics, campaigns, or state parties;
5. Created a Code of Conduct, Ethics Committee, and formalized a process to review Code of Conduct violations;
6. Included a list of sexual harassment training partners in the refreshed County Party Handbook, and will provide this list to campaigns as part of materials distributed to them.

IDP has a procedure in place for handling these kinds of allegations. As an attorney with respect for the law and the process, I cannot issue further statements or findings of fact without first following this process.

The IDP exists to elect Democrats across the entire state of Indiana. Thousands of Hoosier Democrats are doing dynamic work every day. County chairs across the state report that Hoosiers are responding in great numbers to the abominations of the Trump Administration. Volunteers are stepping up, asking how they can help. IDP has conducted many successful town hall meetings, with more scheduled. Hoosiers are tired of the chaos in Washington and at the Republican-controlled Indiana Statehouse. Our focus is on improving the lives of Hoosiers by electing Democrats.”