By Sydney Byerly
The Indiana Citizen
September 11, 2026
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith used the 25-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Friday to lambast Islam on social media – and to needle other Republicans whose support for Muslims’ religious freedom he described as “suicidal empathy.”
“Never forget what Islam wants to do to the American way of life,” Beckwith said on X, as he shared a video of a person falling from a burning World Trade Center tower.
He then took aim at state Treasurer Daniel Elliott, escalating a monthslong, public feud with a fellow Republican who has sharply criticized Beckwith’s past attacks on Islam.
Beckwith wrote on X that Elliott “thinks defending Islamism’s growing influence in America is somehow a defense of constitutional values.”
The comments from the lieutenant governor, a self-identified Christian nationalist, are a window into broader divides within the GOP over Islam – with anti-Muslim rhetoric on the rise, coming in part in response to the victories of prominent Muslim-American Democrats, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
In remarks Wednesday evening at his presidential center, former President George W. Bush recalled his decision to visit a mosque six days after the 9/11 attacks and declare there that “Islam is peace,” saying he wanted to make clear that Muslims in the United States were not to blame for the attacks.
“It became clear to me that this is an ideological struggle, which is what I viewed it as, and we forego one of the most important parts of our ideology, which is the freedom to worship the way you want to worship,” Bush said. “All of a sudden, the enemy has won a victory, and so that was part of my thinking.”
However, Beckwith and other Republicans have ratcheted up their attacks on Islam broadly – a sharp difference from Bush and other GOP figures’ efforts to avoid criticizing the entire religion and instead use more targeted phrases such as “radical Islamic terrorists.”
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace said that Muslims in public office are “a threat to both national security and our republic.” Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville called El-Sayed a “terrorist.” Florida Rep. Randy Fine said the United States needs “more Islamophobia, not less.”
Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director Nihad Awad acknowledged the increasingly hate-filled rhetoric and called for unity in a statement on Friday.
“Today, bad actors are once again exploiting the 9/11 attacks to score political points, incite discrimination, and justify forever wars overseas,” Awad said. “We cannot let these resurgent voices of division, hate and violence succeed. We must instead embrace the spirit of unity that bonded all of us together 25 years ago and stand up for the universal value of human life, anywhere and everywhere.”
Beckwith’s Friday morning broadsides came in response to a recent Indianapolis Star interview with Elliott, who defended religious freedom and constitutional protections for Americans of all faiths while discussing his disagreement with Beckwith over Islam.
“I will die on the hill of religious freedom. I will die on the hill of our Constitution,” Elliott told Star columnist Jacob Stewart.
Elliott said the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom applies regardless of a person’s faith. He noted that he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which he said has “had our share of persecution because of our faith.”
“At the end of the day, the thing about rights is anytime I restrict one person or one group of people, I end up restricting all of them,” Elliott said.
Beckwith responded Thursday by accusing Elliott of defending Islamism and saying religious liberty does not require Americans to be indifferent toward political or religious ideologies that Beckwith believes conflict with the constitutional order.
Beckwith called Elliott’s position part of the “Romney Republican mindset,” referring to the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who is a Mormon and later became one of the party’s more moderate figures as a Utah senator. Beckwith argued that liberty requires “virtue, vigilance, and the courage to defend the constitutional order that protects it.”
He also made the dispute personal, saying he had rallied support for Elliott during the 2022 Republican state convention.
“And here’s the part that makes this especially frustrating for me: Dan Elliott won his 2022 convention race by just three votes,” Beckwith wrote. “I rallied hundreds of conservatives to support him because I believed he would stand firmly for the principles we sent him there to defend.”
“I regret that support,” Beckwith continued. “I helped elect him. I own that mistake. But I won’t make it twice.”
Elliott won the 2022 Republican nomination for state treasurer by three votes at the party’s state convention, defeating Elise Nieshalla, who is now the state auditor.
It wasn’t clear exactly what Beckwith meant, since Elliott has already secured the Republican nomination for reelection as state treasurer.
The Indiana Citizen asked Beckwith’s office to clarify what role he played in Elliott’s 2022 campaign and what he meant by saying he “won’t make it twice,” including whether he was referring to a future election or political effort involving Elliott. Beckwith and his office did not respond by publication time.
Abhi Reddy, chief of staff and legislative counsel for the Indiana treasurer, said Elliott was focused on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Today is the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in American history. His thoughts and prayers are solely focused on the innocent Americans who were killed, including the over 400 Firefighters, Police, EMS, and other first responders who answered the call that day,” Reddy said. “He has no comment on Micah’s tweets.”
Beckwith has repeatedly criticized Islam in recent months, including describing Islam as a “demonic death cult” and arguing that Americans should distinguish Islam from other religions.
Elliott has pushed back against Beckwith’s comments, including at a June Statehouse gathering focused on religious freedom. Elliott said protecting religious rights for Muslims is not an endorsement of Islam but a defense of constitutional principles.
In his interview with the Star, Elliott acknowledged that his position could have political consequences.
“I’m not trying to make people mad. I’m trying to stand on a principle,” Elliott said. “And if it costs me an election, it costs me an election.”
The Star interview is part of a series examining the future direction of the Republican Party after President Donald Trump leaves office. Elliott told Stewart that he believes Republicans should focus more on individuals and families rather than institutions.
Elliott said that philosophy includes protecting people’s ability to worship and practice their faith.
“We believe in the person, the individual, and them having the rights to believe what they want, to worship how they want, to have this dream to go do something big and to do it,” Elliott said.
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.
