This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, February 8th, 2022.

Later in the program, ACLU Indiana filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Todd Rokita, claiming he violated the first amendment when he barred a journalist from covering his press conferences. More in today’s headlines.

Also coming up in the next half hour, the producers of BloomingOUT tackled House Bill 1041 - a bill would ban transgender women and girls from participating in K-12 school sports that match their gender identity.

ACLU Indiana Sues Attorney General Todd Rokita

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Todd Rokita after he barred a journalist from attending his press conferences.

ACLU of Indiana’s lawsuit alleges Rokita violated the first amendment when he disallowed state government and politics reporter Abdul-Hakim Shabazz to cover the AG’s public briefings.

In a statement, Shabazz said, “This goes to the heart of the First Amendment and our U.S. Constitution. If Attorney General Rokita can ignore this and ban me from his news conferences then he can do it to anyone in the press corps and that can't be good for democracy and transparency.”

Shabazz has covered Indiana politics since 2004, working for news outlets such as WRTV, the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis Business Journal. Currently, Shabazz is the editor and publisher of Indy Politics dot org - a site he has owned and operated for over a decade.

Meanwhile, Rokita issued a statement that Shabazz is not a “real journalist” - labeling him as a “gossip journalist.” According to the lawsuit, elected officials often hold press conferences that only allow credentialed journalists to attend. The Indiana Department of Administration issues credentials by assigning press passes to journalists.

The complaint says Shabazz has a media badge issued by the state department of administration - credentials he received years ago, which have never been voided or suspended.

In 2018, Shabazz moderated the Republican debate for U.S. Senate. Todd Rokita, one of the candidates running at the time, objected to Shabazz moderating the debate. The lawsuit alleges that Rokita said the debate should be moderated by conservatives, not “liberal media figures.” Nonetheless, Rokita’s objections proved unsuccessful as Shabazz moderated the debate.

Then, in October of 2021, AG Rokita announced he would host a press conference regarding a lawsuit filed by his office to challenge robocalls made to Indiana residents. The press conference only allowed credentialed journalists to attend.

Shabazz claimed he RSVP’d for the public announcement, because he thought it was newsworthy for his audience. Shabazz says that shortly before the press conference began, a staff person employed by the office of the Attorney General denied Shabazz’s entry when he presented his press badge.

ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in a statement, “Blocking a journalist from attending a press conference because one does not agree with their reporting is a clear violation of the First Amendment. A free media function as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government actions or wrongdoings.”

Ellettsville Plan Commission

Photo courtesy of Elletsville.

At the Ellettsville Plan Commission meeting on February 3rd, David Drake was re-elected as the president of the commission unanimously. Dan Swafford was unanimously appointed as Vice President.

The Plan Commission then heard from petitioner Doug Duncan, who asked for permission to build five self-storage buildings at 5050 West State Road 46, next to the Ellettsville Fire Department.

The land is zoned C-3 Commercial, and storage units are permitted in this area.