The Hamilton County Republican Party and the Indiana Democratic Party both deny any involvement in a text message some residents of central Indiana received Oct. 12, inviting them to a “Free Palestine Rally” at Monument Circle in Indianapolis.
@HCRP_IN A friend of mine just sent pics of an unsolicited text he received. Check out the reply when he texted “STOP”!! This is absolutely disgusting and astonishingly stupid. pic.twitter.com/wpB8JfvVG0
— Brett (@BrewBusBrett) October 12, 2023
The text message states that its from the “Progressive Democrats of Indiana,” and reads that, “As Democrats. We need to stand together with our Palestinian brothers in this struggle for freedom.”
The message also states that recipients can text “STOP” to end further messages. People who texted “stop” then received a confirmation that stated, “Hamilton County Republican GOP: You are now opted-out and will receive no further messages,” indicating that the message originated from the Hamilton County Republican Party.
In a brief statement posted on its X account later in the evening on Oct. 12, the Hamilton County Republican Party stated that it “had absolute nothing to do with a text campaign presented as the Progressive Democrats being circulated on social media today. We have been and will always be transparent in our messaging.”
Mario Massillamany, chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party, reiterated in a telephone interview Oct. 13 that they did not pay for or issue the text. He said the message differs from the party’s usual texts, in particular the opt-out message. He said their texts read “stop = end” and are not in all-caps.
Massillamany added that if it had been them sending the message, it wouldn’t make sense to identify themselves when people opted out.
“If we were trying to deceive people, why would we put our name on it?” he said.
Massillamany said he’s not sure how many people received the text, but the Hamilton County Republican Party has received only four or five complaints from recipients. He said he’s had more calls from reporters than people who got the texts.
He said he has a friend who is an investigator, and that friend is looking into the source of the text message.
“What we should be talking about is Hamas trying to have Jihad against the Jewish people,” he said. “People should come together to make sure Jewish people feel protected and are protected in this country and in Israel.”
The Indiana Democratic Party also released a statement Oct. 12, attributed to Chair Mike Schmuhl.
“Central Indiana voters reported receiving text messages today to attend a divisive rally that looked to be sent by a group affiliated with Indiana Democrats,” he stated. “Let me be clear: The Indiana Democratic Party did not send these messages, was not involved in any way, and we condemn the division they seek to create by targeting the Jewish community in their time of immense mourning from the brutal terror attacks by Hamas on Israel.”
Hamas fighters from Gaza launched a violent attack against Israel on Oct. 7, targeting civilians. Israel responded with attacks on Gaza targets, which includes civilian populations.
In a follow-up statement from the Indiana Democratic Party Oct. 13, Schmuhl called the GOP’s denial of involvement in the text message “laughable at best.”
Indiana Democrats spokesperson Sam Barloga said in a telephone interview Oct. 13 that the text message was a “shameful tactic, trying to divide the community.”
He said that even if the text message wasn’t based on the tragedies in Israel, people shouldn’t be trying to score political points through deception.
Barloga said the text probably went to hundreds, if not thousands of people, adding that there are “increasing reports that this might have been targeted specifically at Jewish members of the community.”
