Sam James is a member of the Steering Committee of the Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
President of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Rick Snyder made local headlines the morning after one of the largest and most disciplined anti-ICE and pro-immigrant protests in the city’s recent history. Snyder, also the FOP’s National Chaplain, released a statement on June 12 claiming the mass action outside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse proved it was possible for people to exercise their First Amendment rights “safely and without violence.”
“Indy shows how protests ‘can (and should be) done’ during NBA finals,” read the headline in the IndyStar, which was picked up by Yahoo! News.
Snyder’s praise for his “officers, leaders of the IMPD” is not surprising, but what explains his applause for the protesters, or “the residents of Indianapolis?”
Why is it newsworthy that the protest was “peaceful?” PSL Indianapolis, our partner-organizations in the Indianapolis Liberation Center, and other allied groups like the Alliance for for Latino Migrant Advocacy, have organized and led hundreds of demonstrations, rallies, marches, and other actions over the years, all of which were peaceful. “Peaceful” protests happen on a daily basis across the country; they are far from exceptional and far from newsworthy.
Finally, what is Snyder’s real agenda?
Protesters showed up with flyers, cops showed up with weapons
In the IndyStar article about Snyder’s statement and the action, journalist Matthew Cupelli presents a timeline of events.
“Just before 7 p.m. June 11,” it begins, “about a dozen protesters handed out flyers and signs to passersby.” The leading sentence of the next paragraph notes, by contrast, that “Indianapolis police were seen carrying pepper ball guns, less-than-lethal weapons that shoot balls designed to burst on impact and release pepper powder.”
What group was prepared to engage in violence: the protesters that brought flyers and signs or the cops that brandished pepper ball guns and certainly had deadly weapons at the ready?
Cops, not the people, started the last violent protests
The last “violent” protests in Indianapolis occurred during the summer of 2020 and as journalists and an independent investigation confirmed, it was the police–not the protesters–who initiated the riots.
On May 31, 2020, the IndyStar reported that the IMPD started shooting tear gas at protesters around 6:00 pm (hours before the curfew and thus before it could be declared an “unlawful assembly”). Moreover, they started firing tear gas while we were backing away with our hands up, chanting “Back Up, Don’t Shoot!”
WTHR’s Karen Cambell reported that the IMPD used tear gas against a peaceful vigil led by local faith leaders and attended by members of their congregation. The cops attacked the group as Pastor Brian Lane led the crowd in a prayer.
In February 2021, an “independent” panel of three people–employed by Martin University, Ice Miller LLP, and Krieg DeVault LLP–largely attributed the violence to the IMPD. As ANSWER Indiana reported at the time:
“The report confirmed key facts that protest organizers have been saying since that weekend: that IMPD used tear gas on peaceful protesters, including children, before any property damage occurred; that IMPD arbitrarily declared peaceful and lawful assemblies ‘unlawful’ to break them up; and that IMPD lied about the reasons for which they illegally seized medical supplies before attacking protesters.”
Speaking to his fellow travelers, Snyder tells the truth
During Fanchon Stinger’s morning show on the far-right news outlet Merit TV on June 13, Snyder changed his tune. Speaking to his fellow extreme right-wing audience, he let his guard down, offering several reasons the Indianapolis protest outside the basketball stadium as the Pacers defeated Oklahoma’s City Thunder differed from the other nationwide demonstrations–each as unbelievable and unfounded as the next.
Snyder said that the “peaceful protest” was due to “good proactive policing and good community relations.” “Officers in Indianapolis,” he later said, “are the best in the business.”
If that business is shooting and killing our people, especially Black men, then he is correct. In 2023, the 29 IMPD officers shot 18 people and 13 of those cops killed 10 people, all of whom were Black men. As of now, 23 of the 29 officers have been let off the hook completely with the office of Ryan Mears, a Democrat, refusing to press charges. Whether or not the cops who shot and/or killed Gary Harrell, Brandon Ramirez, Eric Taylor, Darcel Edwards, and Leandre Houston will face any consequences for their actions is yet to be determined.
Snyder also claimed that other protests in other cities “get hijacked by the same radical agenda-driven groups that are really co-opted by violent opportunists that are focused on Marxist, communist principles, who are also fueled by shadow funding.” He alleged the IMPD found evidence that “busloads of, uh, professional, uh, protesters who were actually in Indianapolis and at the conclusion of the riots were heading back to Asheville, North Carolina, which is the East Coast bay of Antifa.” “We also found that we had bricks that were brought in,” he continued.
Not only are Snyder’s assertions lies; they also expose his complete lack of knowledge about the reality on the ground. The trope of “outside” communist agitators has deep and racist roots, but it has always been that: a myth. Had Snyder done any research into the protest, he would know that it was called for by an Indianapolis-based Marxist organization in alliance with other progressive (but not Marxist) local organizations.
In fact, the real outside agitators are the IMPD officers who drive in from one of the seven neighboring counties to Indianapolis daily–and on our dime.
Snyder: “Thank God” Trump backs criminal cops
Even with the protection of the FOP and the local government, IMPD officers are still regularly charged with and convicted with real crimes, or acts that harm real people and not buildings.
For a few examples from last year alone:
- In February 2024, Shane Decker, with 25 years on the force, recorded sexual acts with women without their consent while on-duty and wearing his uniform. In March 2025, Decker was arrested on similar charges in Hamilton County.
- In August 2024, IMPD Sergeant Javed Richards with 12 years on the force, was charged with 12 counts of child exploitation.
- In September 2024, Kamal Bola of Hendricks County who was an IMPD cop for six years, admitted to molesting a child and spying on her room.
- In November 2024, IMPD officer Herman Mears with seven years on the force was arrested and charged in Whiteland with strangulation and domestic battery in the presence of a child.
“Thank God,” Snyder told Merit TV, “we have an administration now that will back the play of law enforcement officers” like the four listed above. To learn more about IMPD’s reign of terror, listen to the latest episode of Naptown People’s Radio.
What’s behind Snyder’s statement?
That Snyder is a reactionary is no secret. So why would he applaud protesters?
The Indianapolis police are in a difficult situation. The masses of people are on our side and don’t trust the police. Local law enforcement loses more credibility each day. As they cooperate with ICE, they pass the buck to ICE and legislation “compelling” them to cooperate with their sister-agency terrorizing our city. They are “just following orders.”
More significantly, Snyder is trying to prevent the movement from escalating. In essence, Snyder’s public-facing remarks boil down to: protest so long as it doesn’t change anything. It’s an attempt to placate the movement into a routine of speaking out while they continue their war on our community. He wants to scare the people by distinguishing the “good” from the “bad” protesters.
We’ve seen this play before. In 2020, the cops, Mayor, and Governor tried to do the same thing. They tried to weaken and divide the movement and discourage the majority from hitting the streets–the only place where we can win real justice.
Snyder wants to keep us operating within their system. By its very design, however, their system cannot bring us justice. That’s why they refuse to charge, let alone jail, killer cops. That’s why we need a new system.
Judging by the energy and size of the crowd at the June 11 protest, the people of our city know that basic fact. The task ahead of us is to turn that awareness into action, which in part means we must explain to our friends, neighbors, and community members why Snyder made that statement and to show that it’s a lie.
We won’t let Snyder or those outlets uncritically echoing his hollow words pacify the people or create a false distinction between “good” and “bad” protesters. When we stand together, we have the power to defend our immigrant communities against raids, repression, and fear. The same systems that attack immigrants are the ones that exploit all of us: cutting wages, crushing unions, destroying our environment, slashing social programs, privatizing our school system, banning books as they put profits over people and the planet. We won’t be divided.
Featured photo: Armed police next to unarmed protesters outside of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 11. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center.