Marion County Election Board recesses hearing after voter with campaign apparel was found to be armed at First Friends vote center

The Marion County Election Board recessed a hearing Jan. 21 after reviewing an Election Day incident in which a voter at the First Friends Quaker Church vote center on Nov. 5, 2024, entered wearing campaign apparel and was found to be carrying two handguns and a knife, election officials said.

Board members heard an overview from Patrick Becker, Marion County director of elections, and a first-hand account from long-time inspector Margo Kelly, who said poll workers asked the voter to remove a hat and turn his T-shirt inside out because the clothing displayed a candidate’s image and slogan. Kelly said when the voter removed his shirt he revealed two handguns and a knife. Election workers escorted the man to a voting machine, waited while he voted and then ushered him from the building; the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded and spoke with the voter but did not arrest him, officials said.

The incident, which took place at a site that also houses a preschool, prompted heightened concern about the safety of poll workers and voters. "He was very belligerent," Kelly told the board, and she described multiple people calling police. Kelly said she used the de-escalation script provided to poll workers and immediately called the inspector hotline and police. Director Becker said the board provided notice of the Jan. 21 hearing to the voter in person on Dec. 13, 2024, and that investigators had turned video and witness…