The leader of a protest at the Indianapolis office of Sen. Todd Young was taken away in an ambulance Monday afternoon. Members of the group that was there to protest the Senate health care bill claim Lorrell Kilpatrick was knocked into a wall by marshals inside the building.
Teresa Torres said she witnessed the incident, which happened when the group was inside asking to talk with Young. Torres claimed marshals got rough and took her phone away when she tried to take pictures. She told Network Indiana that she had permission to take pictures, not was forbidden to take video.
Torres said Kilpatrick was knocked into a wall when she tried to help a young man who has “balance issues”, who was also knocked over by marshals.
“And I begged them, please let me stay with her until an ambulance comes, because more police started coming in. So they made me leave. They physically took my chair and started pushing it, told me if I didn’t leave they were going to arrest me,” said Torres.
Marshals would not speak with Network Indiana to confirm or deny Torres’ claims. Kilpatrick was taken away in an ambulance.
About 25 people stayed and continued chanting and singing, asking, “Where’s the senator? Where’s Todd Young?” Some of the songs were extolling Medicaid, which some fear the new health care bill would take away. There are cuts planned under the bill.
“This bill, on the floor of the Senate right now, is a direct sap in the face of people with disabilities,” said Lucas, who said he was there to do his part to fight the bill. “It’s telling us that the Republicans want people with disabilities to be locked in the room again, to be not heard again, to be not citizens again.”
He said that he’s on home health care for 12 hours a day, but still works. He said he believes that he would not be able to contribute without Medicaid.
“I would argue that we need the exact opposite. We need the expansion of Medicaid. We need more people to get out and create a life for themselves,” said Lucas.
Gov. Eric Holcomb did not commit to support for the bill Monday.
“Given a fighting chance, Indiana can take care of its own citizens. We’re focused on making sure that Indiana has the flexibility and control it needs to adjust, just like we’ve done with the Healthy Indiana Plan. Every state should have the ability to develop its own approach.
“The legislation under consideration by the Senate is a discussion draft and continues to evolve. I understand leaders are still making changes to the bill to address concerns, and we’ll continue working with our Congressional delegation to advocate for solutions that meet Hoosiers’ needs.”
WRAPS Chris Davis reporting…
