Ex-Staffer Ejected from Indy Meeting Over Harrassment Investigation
INDIANAPOLIS — Lauren Roberts, a former campaign staffer who accused Mayor Joe Hogsett’s top aide of sexual harassment last summer, was forcibly removed Monday from a City-County Council meeting after trying to speak during a hearing on funding the investigation into those claims.
Council President Vop Osili ordered deputies to remove Roberts for speaking off-topic during the hearing about paying a Chicago law firm that investigated the allegations.
Outside the building, Roberts told reporters, “If I could tell my younger self what Joe Hogsett and his former campaign manager were about to put me through, I would tell her to run away and don’t look back.”
Other women have recently come forward with harassment claims against city officials, including Katie Carlson and Maggie Adams-McBride, who resigned citing a toxic work environment.
The council formed a committee last year that hired Chicago firm Fisher Phillips to investigate. The report found no legal wrongdoing by Hogsett but detailed complaints against former chief of staff Thomas Cook dating back to 2017.
Councilor Crista Carlino, who leads the committee, said follow-up talks with the law firm are underway. She acknowledged some texts referenced by accusers were left out of the report. “Whether it was by request of the survivors, I believe that’s something we should respect,” she said.
Only two Democrats on the council, Andy Nielsen and Jesse Brown, have called for Hogsett to resign. Osili and others say there’s not enough evidence to support that.
Republican Minority Leader Michael-Paul Hart said the council lacks authority to force a resignation and is focused instead on stronger policies to prevent misconduct.
The council’s Democratic caucus plans to propose overhauling harassment policies, including creating an independent inspector general, an independent HR board, and improving training and reporting systems.
The Fisher Phillips investigation cost taxpayers $450,000. Hogsett cooperated fully, providing more than 1,000 documents and multiple interviews.
