Indiana author John Green shared a video on social media on Aug. 11 about the paradoxes of living in Indiana. The video discusses Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Dunkin’ donuts.
“So I live in Indiana, in many ways we are a troubled state,” Green starts out saying. “I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Our lieutenant governor recently gave a sermon in which he came out as pro-hate. He gave a pro-hate sermon. So I’m not going to pretend this is a utopia or anything.”
Green is not the only Hoosier to express concern about the sermon that Beckwith delivered at an Elkhart church in July. Green then goes on to share his dismay over comments Beckwith made on a show in May in which he called Islam “…a demonic death cult.”
Green has not been shy about his feelings about Beckwith over the years, calling Beckwith his “nemesis” in a video back in 2024.
IndyStar reached out to Beckwith’s office for comment.
“John Green declared Lt. Governor Beckwith his ‘nemesis’ years ago,” Beckwith’s deputy communications director Graham Loughead said in an email. “The commitment is almost impressive. However, John Green is taking a handful of words completely out of context and attempting to manipulate people.”
In the 2024 video, Green explained that he and Beckwith are “not on the best of terms” after the ultra-conservative pastor, then a Hamilton East Public Library board member, led efforts in 2023 to remove books from the library’s teen section.
Green’s novel “The Fault in Our Stars” was one of many titles targeted, but after intense public backlash it was returned.
Beckwith, however, told IndyStar in 2024 he regrets Green’s novels were included in the purge.
“Honestly, I was upset that even some of his books got moved in the first place,” said Beckwith, who later resigned from the library board to concentrate on his campaign for lieutenant governor. “That was never the intention. It was designed to go after pornographic and very graphic material and move them into the adult section.”
After decrying Beckwith in the video, Green shifts the conversation to what he says is one of the best things about Indiana, “the best Bureau of Motor Vehicles.”
He shares how a heartfelt interaction with a BMV employee led him to think about the benefits of living in Indiana. The employee reached for Green’s hand after he explained what he was there for and said to him “Mr. Green, we are going to get through this together.”
The employee helped Green and after he left, Green decided to repay the kindness of the “hardworking, incredible professionals” at the BMV. He stopped by to deliver two dozen Dunkin’ Donuts, but the employees declined the gift, explaining that it could be seen as a bribe.
“Now I want you to imagine turning down free doughnuts due to professional rigor while your boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss is finger-wagging in some church, literally preaching, and I’m quoting directly here: ‘Our God is a God of hatred,'” Green said. “Such are the paradoxes of living in Indiana.”
Katie Wiseman covers trending news for IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@indystar.com. Follow her on Bluesky, Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: John Green discusses Micah Beckwith, Indiana BMV and Dunkin’ in video
Reporting by Katie Wiseman and John Tufts, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Katie Wiseman and John Tufts, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
