INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — Facing down a sea of her own seething constituents in Westfield on Friday, U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz’s town hall descended into a two-hour shouting match just minutes after it began. Screams from the crowd were nearly constant, often drowning out the Republican representative as she took questions on a range of issues. Constituents’ fury was wide-ranging: from outrage over inflation, tariffs and the national deficit; to concerns over health care and decreased government services; heated opposition to federal deportation efforts and spending cuts directed by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); and frustration over President Donald Trump’s response to the Signal scandal at the U.S. Department of Defense. “You work for us!”  “We don’t trust you!” “You’re a f****** liar!”  “You’re not listening to us!” Spartz, a third-term federal lawmaker who represents Indiana’s 5th Congressional District north of Indianapolis, struggled for nearly two hours to speak over the yells and boos. And she isn’t the only Indiana public official being criticized for access, or a lack thereof. Examples abound, from Attorney General Todd Rokita to state lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith. Spartz’s event came shortly after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson advised Republicans to avoid town halls which have been attracting vocal critics of actions by Trump and Musk, who is leading an effort to ferret out waste and fraud that has included firing federal employees, halting some government payments and uprooting programs. Spartz, however, did not heed that warning and faced hundreds of angry — often hostile — Hoosiers at town halls on Friday and Saturday, the latter held in Muncie. She threatened at several points during the town halls to stop hosting such events, but repeatedly asserted her desire “to hear all sides” from “everyone in my district.” “You don’t have to scream,” Spartz told Friday’s crowd in Westfield. “I’m glad that we have people that came here — and I understand your frustration. … That’s why I have these town halls. We want to have these conversations. But if people just come here because they want to scream, it’s not productive.”  Some of Spartz’s GOP colleagues have been less inclined. Republican U.S. Senators Jim Banks and Todd Young, as well as Reps. Mark Messmer and Marlin Stutzman, are among those being criticized for not holding or attending town halls.  Banks, specifically, ignited a political backlash last week after he skipped a constituent-led “Empty Chair Town Hall” and instead sent donuts — a move critics called “a dismissive stunt.” “The idea of people having access to government in a variety of ways is foundational to American representative democracy. On one hand, it shouldn’t have to be required — it should just go without saying that in a representative form of government law, public officials should speak to the people who put them in office,” said Gerry Lanosga, professor of journalism at Indiana University and board member for the Indiana Coalition for Open Government.  “What we’re kind of seeing now is partly pushed by officials who get into office and just don’t want to engage with citizens more than beyond the ballot box,” he continued. “I think it’s a real concern. And I think it’s a real sort of black eye on American democracy if public officials want to insulate themselves from the voices of people.” ‘Chaotic,’ ‘frustrating’ town halls During the weekend town halls, Spartz emphasized that her office “has an open door policy” and “wants to hear from you all.” In Westfield, multiple constituents pushed back: “You never respond!” some said. Others left angrily in the middle of the event, shouting that Spartz “doesn’t actually want to hear from you — she doesn’t care what you think!” In a post to X on Saturday, Spartz rebutted.  “I don’t think (the) radical left has learned yet that shouting and screaming is not going to work — no one is going to be intimidated,” she wrote. “I still appreciate everyone who came to my town halls this week & hope at least some on the left were able to hear common sense policies we are trying to implement benefiting all Americans.” Elsewhere in recent weeks, other members of Indiana’s congressional delegation have been absent from “empty chair” town halls across the state. One of those hosted last week by Indivisible Northeast Indiana — part of a progressive national movement to “mobilize local activists to resist extremist polices” — drew hundreds to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne. Indiana House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta and state Rep. Kyle Miller, both Democrats, took the stage to answer questions from the public. Three of Indiana’s Republican congressional lawmakers — Banks, Stutzman and Young — were represented by empty chairs. Banks, Indiana’s junior U.S. senator, instead sent donuts to the crowd. He said on X that the Indivisible group consists of Democrats who are “anti-Trump/Banks,” and that town hall attendees seemed “really angry.” “So I sent my favorite donuts hoping to lighten the mood,” Banks said. A video about the donut delivery showed some at the event laughing and eating the donuts. Others weren’t so receptive. “I’m going to throw up on them,” said one attendee. Another asked, “Why isn’t he here?” referring to Banks, while a third man said, “Tell him to go to hell.” Jim Carpenter, co-founder of Indivisible Northeast Indiana, said in a statement that “the parlor trick of offering donuts” was “a waste of taxpayer money” and “ironic coming from someone pledging to eliminate fraud and waste in the federal government.” When asked about the town halls, Banks’s staff gave the Indiana Capital Chronicle a single response: “No taxpayer dollars were used to purchase donuts.” The “indivisible” Democrat anti-Trump/Banks group held a “town hall” yesterday. Seemed like they were REALLY angry so I sent my favorite donuts hoping to lighten the mood. You won’t want to miss what happened next! WATCH: pic.twitter.com/b9f3J3v45X— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) March 22, 2025 Young, separately, had met with the Indivisible group following a protest in front of his office. A spokesperson for the senator told the Capital Chronicle that he “regularly meets with Hoosiers in a variety of formats, including attending meetings and events across Indiana, hosting constituent coffees, and holding virtual meetings with Hoosier groups when the Senate is in session.” Additionally, Young’s staff “meets with individuals and groups in all 92 counties.” In Evansville, hundreds of protesters gathered earlier this month in “frustration” over refusals by Messmer, Indiana’s 8th District representative, to hold a town hall or engage with constituent concerns. Hoosiers also pushed back after staff for U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin, who represents Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, “put a pause” on regularly scheduled office hours with constituents in Bedford. Democratic officials have been more willing to continue town halls. Rep. André Carson, whose district encompasses most of Indianapolis, hosted an hour-long virtual conversation last week, where he largely fielded questions about DOGE cuts.  First Congressional District Rep. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat from Highland, held a similar remote town hall in early March. State officials face scrutiny, too At the state level, Republican Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said he also remains committed to meeting face-to-face with Hoosiers. Ahead of his Monday town hall in Franklin, Beckwith made clear in a post to X that, “I think going out into communities and having conversations is such an important part of being in public office.” Even so, constituents are barred from responding to the lieutenant governor’s posts on the social media site. Beckwith’s staff have previously suggested that “security” concerns prompted tighter interaction restrictions on X, and said the office’s social media accounts — along with the accounts for the two agencies that report to the lieutenant governor — are monitored by his team “in an effort to inform the public about activities and events.” They cited the office’s social media policy, which states that “the focus of the social networking opportunities is to share information” about the agencies, while “larger discussions of political views and philosophies may be addressed elsewhere.” Beckwith’s personal X account alternatively permits anyone to comment and reply on posts, for example. Such limitations were not in place on social media accounts held by former Republican Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, nor are those restrictions in place Gov. Mike Braun’s official account. The Capital Chronicle also received complaints from constituents who encountered issues when trying to contact the Indiana Attorney General’s Office by phone or email. Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita maintained that Hoosiers have “unprecedented access to his office” but said staff are sometimes “bombarded, and we have overflow.” “If a number is left, we call it back, for sure,” Rokita said about phone calls to the state agency. He noted that his office has “several full-time employee-equivalents” whose jobs are dedicated to “consumer outreach.” Rokita referenced his “Eyes on Education Portal,” which at times has flooded and even “overwhelmed” the office with messages in “short period(s) of time.” He also pointed to the agency’s employee handbook, which requires that “all phone calls, all emails — any contact — is to be returned in 24 business hours.” “And if that doesn’t happen, there are consequences. It doesn’t happen often, but I executed one of those consequences a couple weeks ago, and I’m just sad to hear something like that. But if it’s a pattern, I promise I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Rokita said. “I pride myself on accessibility.” Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray further held that it’s “super important” for state lawmakers to remain open and accessible to Hoosiers. That “can be challenging,” though, during the legislative session. “We’re super busy. I go, like everybody else, to at least one town hall … during the weekends, on Friday or Saturday. And most of mine this year have been pretty full and kind of robust conversations, which I really, really enjoy,” Bray said. “And I try pretty hard to answer emails and phone calls and things like that, but it is difficult to keep up with those because of the pace of session.”  “Probably not unlike any others, I could stand a little bit of criticism for being slow to get back with people,” he continued. “But the folks’ input is super important. It helps me stay grounded and keeps my ear to the ground. The time I invest in that makes me a much better legislator.” Lanosga described an “eroding, a kind of shrinking in the ability of people to get their voices heard by government officials, at all levels, from both sides of the aisle,” over the last three decades. Increasingly, he said, “the ears of the representatives or politicians aren’t hearing the voices of the people.” “I think citizens — if they’re disturbed about lack of engagement or lack of responsiveness of elected officials — should pick up the phone. They should write letters. They can write letters to news media. They can write emails. They can do social media campaigns,” he said. “All of those things should be tools in the arsenal of arguing for these sorts of robust public debates and public discourse.” While there can be “legitimate reasons” for public officials to limit accessibility — such as for physical safety — Lanosga cautioned that those justifications “can end up really pushing back the boundaries of people’s access to make their voices heard.” “Citizens can go to meetings that are scheduled of governing bodies. But outside that, government officials don’t really have to talk to you if they don’t want to. I think it’s very serious,” he said. “And so in those circumstances, you’re right to kind of ask, ‘What’s the point of me even raising my voice if no one’s here to listen to it?’ And so that’s kind of the situation we’re getting into. And if people don’t start pushing back against it and reclaiming that territory, it’s really hard to get back.” ...read more read less