Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, on Thursday, was the guest speaker at the Highland Republicans’ monthly meeting, participating in a question and answer session that addressed state redistricting, data centers and rising utility bills.
However — although the meeting was advertised publicly on Highland Republicans’ social media and website, and the Lake County Republican Party’s website — representatives for the Post-Tribune were told after the meeting had started that it was a private event.
“Young man, who are you with?” Highland Republicans Chairman Jeff Rosignol asked a Post-Tribune representative in front of about 100 attendees at the meeting. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
Rosignol then said the meeting was a private event, and he was “100% positive” that local media wasn’t supposed to be there.
“But, hold on a second, hold on a second,” Rosignol said, “do you mind telling me how you voted?”
In a Friday morning email, a representative from Beckwith’s office told the Post-Tribune that Thursday’s meeting was hosted by the Highland Republican Party, not the lieutenant governor’s office. Republican Party events are typically intended for party members and not open to the public, the email said.
The representative also mistakenly referred to Highland as a county and not a town and said the decision to include reporters is “entirely up to the county chair.”
“The Lieutenant Governor was not aware whether reporters would be permitted at the event, as he was attending as an invited guest,” the email said. “However, he does not have a preference either way.”
Most of the Thursday evening meeting was dedicated to a tribute to Charlie Kirk, the email said. Rosignol told the Post-Tribune Friday that the Highland Republicans acknowledged Beckwith’s relationship with Kirk, watched a couple videos, and Rosignol recited a letter.
“The tribute to Charlie Kirk honored his legacy as a true American patriot,” an email from the lieutenant governor’s office said. “It emphasized the importance of engaging in bold yet respectful dialogue with the next generation and explored the idea of who the next Charlie Kirk might be, not only nationally, but here in Indiana.”
The Kirk tribute came just one day after Gov. Mike Braun said the state education secretary can revoke licenses for K-12 teachers and administrators for comments about Kirk. The lieutenant governor “fully supports” Braun on that issue, his representative said.
“While teachers have the right to free speech, they are held to a higher standard because Hoosiers entrust them with our children,” the email said. “If any educators are found to hold radical viewpoints, those concerns should be reviewed and addressed appropriately.”
Beckwith addressed a range of topics, according to his office, including mental health, the future of the next generation of Americans, utility rates, his call for a moratorium on the sales tax on utilities, small modular nuclear reactors, data centers, and election security.
Beckwith also answered questions about redistricting at the Highland Republicans’ meeting, his representative said, adding that many attendees expressed support for redistricting and appreciated that Beckwith “was the first major elected official to endorse President Trump’s redistricting initiative.”
Concerns about redistricting Indiana started near the beginning of August, when Vice President JD Vance met with Braun. At the time, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said he believed redistricting was “a done deal,” according to Post-Tribune archives.
“No matter what district they put me in, I will fight for working class people,” Mrvan previously said. “I will fight for fair education. I will fight for access to health care, and I will not allow our most vulnerable populations to be left behind.”
Indiana Republicans previously visited the White House to talk with officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, according to Post-Tribune archives. Politico reported that Vance met with more than 55 Indiana Republicans to discuss redistricting, and Trump reportedly met privately with House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray.
Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the release of census data, according to Post-Tribune archives. The Trump administration has been pressuring states to redistrict ahead of 2026 midterm elections as Democrats would need to flip three states to take control of the U.S. House.
Rosignol and Lake County Republican Party Chair Randy Niemeyer both confirmed that Highland Republicans’ meetings are private, even if they are advertised publicly on social media and the two websites. Highland Republicans meetings are for “Republicans in good standing,” Rosignol told the Post-Tribune in a Friday phone call.
The Highland Republicans have been private for years, Rosignol said, and he’s asked people to leave before.
“It’s unfortunate that’s something that we have to do, that I think it’s something we have to do in today’s day,” Rosignol said. “I actually would like to have good press on some of the things we’re doing.”
Rosignol doesn’t believe that hosting a private meeting with Beckwith hinders the general public’s ability to understand issues the state faces, even though the lieutenant governor is a public official.
“If I had a roundtable or open meeting, then everyone would be able to come,” he said. “We do Republican party business at our meetings, and that’s for Republicans only.”
Thursday’s meeting was not advertised as private on any social media or website dedicated to the Highland Republicans or Lake County Republican Party. The Highland Republicans did not respond to a Thursday email from the Post-Tribune asking what time Beckwith would speak.
Highland Town Councilman Philip Scheeringa, R-5, told the Post-Tribune in a Friday phone call that he did not attend Thursday’s meeting and did not know what happened in the monthly event.
Councilman Doug Turich, R-2, said Friday that he was not at Thursday’s meeting, and he hasn’t attended a Highland Republicans meeting in “six to eight months,” adding that he couldn’t comment on if meetings are typically private.
Highland Town Councilman Tom Black, R-4, also said he did not attend, but he believed meetings were public.
Highland’s two remaining Republican council member — George Georgeff, R-1 — could not immediately respond to request for comment Friday.
Niemeyer attended Thursday’s meeting and “sang the national anthem and gave brief remarks” before leaving for work. The party chair said it’s common practice for Republican Party meetings to be private.
“They’re advertised on party pages for the individual groups, and those pages are out there, and followers can see it,” Niemeyer said. “It’s pretty well understood that I can’t show up to a Democrat meeting, and they don’t show up to ours.”
In the past, Post-Tribune reporters have covered local Democratic Party caucuses and events.
Highland Democratic Party Chair Kelly Bridges said Friday that her organization’s meetings are open to the public. Bridges was also unaware that Beckwith would be in Highland.
Because the Highland Democrats posted about the meeting on its public website and social media, Bridges believes that it was not private.
“There’s no law that the Republican Party has to allow the press,” Bridges said. “Because it was advertised publicly, why they restricted (the Post-Tribune), to me, is that they are not being transparent about why Beckwith was there. The fact that Beckwith was there, and he represents all Hoosiers, he has to answer to everybody.”
Bridges is concerned that Beckwith answered questions about redistricting at a private meeting, especially when it might affect Mrvan’s ability to maintain his seat in Congress. She believes it hinders the ability for others to have their voices heard by those in power.
Redistricting is a conversation because Republicans are afraid of losing their seats in Congress, Bridges said.
“That’s the only reason they’re doing this,” she added. “The number of voters who are people of color or a different ethnicity are going to be silenced. They already have the majority of the state, so adding two more seats is ridiculous.”
