By Sydney Byerly
The Indiana Citizen
June 12, 2026
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith has ignited a new controversy after saying Americans should be given “permission to hate again” and describing Islam as a “demonic death cult” during a May 21 appearance on the Christian conservative program FlashPoint.
During the interview, Beckwith said he “hates Islam” while also saying he loves Muslims and hopes they become Christians. He argued that society has gone too far in trying to eliminate hate and said people should be willing to hate ideas they view as evil.
The remarks prompted criticism from Muslim advocacy groups, interfaith leaders and elected officials from both parties. The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, invited Beckwith to visit an Indiana mosque and meet with Muslim residents after accusing him of spreading hostility toward Islam.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement that while Beckwith “has the right to express his own religious views, including a hatred of another world religion, he should have the wisdom to understand that using his platform as lieutenant governor to spread panic about an imaginary Muslim takeover of Indiana is unbecoming of his office and dangerous to the Indiana Muslim community.”
Since making the comments, Beckwith has repeatedly defended them, including in social media posts where he said he hoped all Muslims in Indiana would become Christians and rejected calls to apologize.
The controversy has also exposed divisions among Indiana Republicans. Gov. Mike Braun said Beckwith “probably regrets” how he phrased his remarks, while other Republican officials have either distanced themselves from the comments or defended the concerns Beckwith said he was trying to raise.
On June 3, Beckwith declared on social media that he says what he means and means what he says. In another post he singled out Treasurer Daniel Elliott, who was critical of the lieutenant governor’s grandstanding, saying “the comments were made by somebody who likes attention.” Beckwith responded by accusing him of being unwilling to confront what Beckwith described as the dangers of radical Islam and called the treasurer a “coward.”
Republican and Democratic officials and religious leaders on June 11 called on Gov. Mike Braun to strip Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith of his role leading an initiative launched earlier this year to deepen the state government’s collaboration with faith-based institutions. Notably state Treasurer Daniel Elliott, Republican Sen. Greg Walker, Senate Democratic leader Shelli Yoder, Democratic Rep. Cherrish Pryor spoke at the event, and Republican Sen. Spencer Deery submitted a prerecorded video message because he could not attend.
Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, who organized the “Faith Over Fear” gathering alongside the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network, said it was intended to reaffirm constitutional protections for religious liberty while pushing back against rhetoric that has left some Muslim Hoosiers feeling unsafe.
“We reject the notion that you can wrap up discrimination and hatred in nice words and wrap it with patriotism, and then promote it by giving permission to hate,” Qaddoura told reporters following the event. “It’s beneath the office of any elected official.”
The Indiana Citizen has published several stories examining Beckwith’s comments, reactions from community organizations, religious leaders, and elected officials, and the mounting political fallout.
Related coverage:
Lt. Gov. Beckwith lambasts Jewish leaders for rejecting his call to hate Muslims
Indiana GOP leaders silent after Lt. Gov. Beckwith says Americans need permission to hate again
‘THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK’: Braun says Beckwith ‘probably regrets’ how he phrased call for hatred
Beckwith doubles down, feuds with fellow Republicans over Islam remarks
Sydney Byerly is a political reporter who grew up in New Albany, Indiana. Before joining The Citizen, Sydney reported news for TheStatehouseFile.com and most recently managed and edited The Corydon Democrat & Clarion News in southern Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism (‘Sco Griz!).
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
