FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Indiana Calls Out Intimidation Tactics from Senator Jim Banks
"We don’t have to get paid by a foreign government to believe that US foreign policy of endless war is wrong"
CODEPINK Indiana is appalled at Senator Jim Banks and his attempts to attack and silence our anti-war organization. Earlier this week, Senator Banks submitted a letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi asking her to investigate CODEPINK: Women for Peace for “engaging in propaganda efforts to support the Chinese Communist Party foreign policy aims.” He goes on to make a number of assertions about CODEPINK that are completely untrue, suggesting that we are paid off by and represent a foreign government.
CODEPINK receives no money from any foreign government and is funded by individuals and foundations that are based in the US. CODEPINK has no contact with the Chinese Communist Party. We, CODEPINK Indiana, are made up of people who oppose war because it is the right thing to do. We are all volunteers. We are workers, veterans, artists, and peace activists from the state of Indiana. Senator Banks’ suggestion that we are representing anything but our own opinions is ridiculous. We don’t have to get paid by a foreign government to believe that US foreign policy of endless war is wrong—unlike Senator Banks, who has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the AIPAC lobby which directly represents the interests of Israel.
We would like to remind Senator Banks that—as people from all over Indiana, from Fort Wayne to Jasper, from Indianapolis to Evansville—we are with the majority of Americans who do not support war crimes being carried out in our name and with our money. Every time Senator Banks votes in favor of another weapons sale or massive Pentagon budget, he is voting against the interests of his constituents. It is his job to represent us, not AIPAC or anyone else.
By asking the AG to investigate CODEPINK using regurgitated lies by his colleagues, he is engaging in an act of intimidation to interfere with our right to free speech and assembly. We don’t want a war with China—neither do most regular folks in Indiana. We want the U.S. to cooperate with China to avoid a catastrophic war between two nuclear-armed nations. That is just common sense.
Senator Banks is deliberately engaging in intimidation tactics against his own constituents who are part of CODEPINK Indiana. We call on the Senator to revoke his request, stop lying about CODEPINK, and actually represent the people of Indiana.
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