When anti-immigration group Save Heritage Indiana launched last year, its leaders courted endorsements from politicians, focused on building consensus and pushed for incremental changes to the Republican Party platform.
Its leader has since pivoted toward burning bridges with powerful Republicans. That is a strategic error requiring would-be supporters to sacrifice far too much to associate with and defend Save Heritage Indiana.
The group on Aug. 1 secretly rerouted attendees to a mass deportation rally from Fishers to a private residence near Colfax after security threats and canceled venues. The event sparked intraparty fights, with Save Heritage Indiana publicly attacking Gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks for not filming a video in support of the rally.
Save Heritage Indiana also drew the ire of State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, who showed up to deliver a speech at the mass deportation rally but changed his mind. He criticized the organization afterward for its secrecy in an interview with 93.1 WIBC, describing how he and his wife drove to Colfax during a severe storm, got shuttled to a tent on muddy grounds and left before the event even began — but not before his wife twisted her ankle.
Save Heritage Indiana board issues apology
It’s relatively low risk to criticize Braun, who has limited influence over the Republican Party. Banks, though, is the undisputed kingmaker of Indiana politics. He rarely loses, and when he does, it is because his enemies have support from a higher power (like President Trump).
It’s perhaps even more significant that Lucas, who does not command a lot of respect, felt the need to publicly condemn Save Heritage Indiana. Now, the Save Heritage Indiana board of directors is stepping down, distancing itself from its own executive director, Daniel Poynter, and issuing apologies to Republicans targeted by Poynter.
The board, in an exclusive statement to me, said it “has not previously addressed the public attacks by Executive Director Daniel Poynter on Sen. Jim Banks and Gov. Mike Braun in the hopes that Daniel would eventually come to realize the need to apologize to both men.”
“Because Daniel has not apologized despite the Board prevailing on him to do so, the Board cannot wait any longer,” it added. “We apologize to Sen. Banks and Gov. Braun on behalf of Save Heritage Indiana, regardless of whether Daniel ultimately decides to do so or not.”
The board went on to praise Banks and Braun for their work on immigration policy.
Poynter in an interview characterized the board as weak.
“We’re at war for the survival of our people,” he told me. “Not all men have what it’ll take. I pray that I do.”
The Save Heritage Indiana board’s apology for Poynter’s choices escalates tension that first became public after Nathan Roberts, a co-founder, stepped down from a leadership position and distanced himself from the organization in July over Poynter’s attack on Banks.
“Mass migration is such a serious problem that everyone who takes it seriously needs to be united,” Roberts said in a statement on X. “Going after the best senator in the country on this issue, who has authored bills ending birthright citizenship and making sure we end CDL scams, is not how we do that.”
Republicans generally dislike being attacked from the right. A lack of public unity in the press and on social media — mediums already perceived as unfriendly to conservative viewpoints — is embarrassing. Republican politicians are not as used to it as Democratic politicians. It’s much more common to handle disagreements behind closed doors.
Creating unnecessary drama with powerful figures was a strategic mistake.
Anti-immigration voters have stronger allies
According to an Axios/Ipsos poll, 93% of Republicans want to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, as do 66% of all Americans. A straw poll at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in 2025 found 89.5% of attendees, primarily politically active young conservatives, would support a total moratorium on all immigration.
That’s a key piece of Save Heritage Indiana’s agenda. The group had potential to fill a void and capitalize on that sentiment within the Republican Party.
Now, though, it makes more sense for Save Heritage Indiana’s members to work through other conservative institutions to pursue their goals. Turning Point USA, for example, has more resources, longer history and an established identity.
Pro-immigration activists demonstrated they are highly organized while gathering in Fishers at the same time Save Heritage Indiana turned off Republicans and faced security challenges, venue changes and other organizational issues trying to pull off the original rally that sparked the counter-protest.
An organization forced to meet in a muddy tent is too small to take on an issue as big as immigration alone.
Contact Jacob Stewart at 317-444-4683 or jacob.stewart@indystar.com. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Save Heritage Indiana’s muddy tent rally sparks a revolt | Opinion
Reporting by Jacob Stewart, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jacob Stewart, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
