Freeman Calls for Civility as Indiana Weighs New Doxing Penalties
STATEHOUSE — During a committee meeting on Tuesday, State Senator Aaron Freeman didn’t hold back his frustration regarding a wave of dangerous harassment targeting Indiana public officials. Freeman spoke out during a hearing for Senate Bill 140, authored by Senators Ed Charbonneau, Tyler Johnson, and Andy Zay. This legislative push follows a tense period late last year when more than a dozen lawmakers faced bomb threats and swatting attempts during a heated redistricting campaign.
Swatting is an incident in which someone with ill intention notifies law enforcement via phone call, email or other form of communication of a false emergency at a targeted location. The end goal of this is to generate as large a scale law enforcement response as possible. Despite the severity of these incidents, which often involved high-stakes police responses at lawmakers’ private homes, no arrests have been made as Indiana State Police are leading an ongoing investigation.
Freeman, an Indianapolis Republican, criticized the anonymous nature of these attacks, contrasting them with the healthy debate he often shares with political opposites.
“There’s a lot of benefit to people that disagree getting together and talking about it, and we do that all the time,” Freeman said, emphasizing that he is always willing to work with anyone who comes to the Statehouse to talk. He expressed total disbelief that anyone would choose to harass families from behind a screen rather than engaging like an adult. “How anybody is 45 years old, living in their mother’s basement and never having a relationship with anybody, and getting on a computer and doing this stuff?” he said. “I am a big boy with broad shoulders. I’m good, not hiding from anybody. You want to take on my kids? I got a whole different problem.”
Political leaders across the state continue to discuss the need for stronger protections as Senate Bill 140 moves forward. If passed, the law would make doxing a Class A misdemeanor, with the potential for felony charges if the act leads to serious injury or death. For Freeman, the issue boils down to basic civility and the safety of families who have nothing to do with political disagreements.
