Demands mount for ‘No Kings’ accounting on policing for marches
County council member who leads Indivisible says effort is an attempt to single out, shut down the progressive demonstrations. Plus, a smattering of This and That.
Thanks for ongoing support from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette. For tickets and details on all the shows and events, go to longpac.org.
DEMANDS MOUNT FOR ‘NO KINGS’ ACCOUNTING ON POLICING FOR MARCHES
A Tippecanoe County Council member this week fended off accusations of conflict of interest for her role in organizing No Kings demonstrations, as a group of residents continued to press for an accounting of the public safety costs put into setup and security for a series of local marches tied to nationwide events since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in 2025.
Lisa Dullum, a Democrat who represents the West Lafayette-based District 4 on the county council, said during a council meeting Tuesday that her work with Greater Lafayette Indivisible wasn’t in conflict with her elected role on the county’s fiscal body – including when it came time to be in the room with police and others as they came up with security plans for march routes ahead of No Kings events.
Dullum also pushed back on insinuations that demonstrators, backed by free speech and assembly protections in the First Amendment, should have to pay for policing and other services. She said she took that as, essentially, an effort to shut down certain kinds of protests.
Frank Hannan, a Wabash Township resident who has spent recent months raising questions about the costs of No Kings marches and other demonstrations, says he wasn’t trying to stop anything. But he said he questioned whether a county council member – someone who wields some power to get things done at the county level – who also is the organizer of an event that will call for police overtime and other costs is a conflict of interest.
“I have never once questioned anyone or any group’s right to hold these protests,” Hannan, who is running as a Republican for Wabash Township Board in the November election, said. “I have continually urged county officials to provide protesters, residents and businesses the maximum protection being necessary.”
Hannan, who said he didn’t agree with the messages carried by the No Kings marches, and others have used public comment portions of county council and city council meetings on both sides of the river to ask about the costs of protests and press for local budgets to include line items in coming years to anticipate and account for future marches. He also has questioned who has been in charge of selecting march routes and whether protests need to wind through both cities and around the courthouse, which forces resources from Lafayette, West Lafayette and the county to be involved.
“I have asked for transparency,” Hannan said. “I have championed the rights of residents and taxpayers to know how much the protests are costing them, and that’s all I have done.”
