Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts 'pornographic smear' of his wife
Beckwith says no evidence of deepfake video shared in his office at Monday town hall meeting with staff member who, per sources, watched topless deepfake in April
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The Marion County prosecutor’s office in Indianapolis has begun interviewing people regarding a deepfake video of a state lawmaker’s wife which was shared among statehouse staff earlier this year, according to people familiar with the prosecutor’s outreach.
Gregg Puls, Beckwith’s deputy chief of staff, and Devin Norrick, a lawyer on contract with his office, watched a deepfake video of state Rep. Craig Haggard’s wife on April 10 in the lieutenant governor’s office, multiple people familiar with the incident told 24sight News Saturday.
As Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears’ team began talking Monday with people who knew about the statehouse deepfake video, the lawmaker whose wife was targeted issued a statement to 24sight News blasting Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and his statehouse colleagues for hiding in fear.
“My wife and I are outraged and saddened that her singing at a charity event for mental health was turned into a pornographic smear of her and our family,” state Rep. Craig Haggard, a suburban Indianapolis Republican, said in the statement. “Statehouse leadership, rather than expressing concern for a victim of this criminal act, instead went into full ‘find the leakers’ mode, seeking to cover up any role the Lieutenant Governor’s office may have played in this affront to all women.”
In Indiana, possession and distribution of nonconsensual deepfake porn is a misdemeanor. In May, President Donald Trump signed a new federal law making it punishable by up to two years in prison.
A spokesperson for Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who has jurisdiction over the Indiana statehouse located in Indianapolis, declined comment for this story and would not say whether an investigation of the lieutenant governor’s office has been opened.
Beckwith did not return requests for comment Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
But asked about the deepfake video Monday at a town hall in Terre Haute, Indiana, Beckwith said he had not seen the video and reviewed employee communications over the last two days and could not find evidence of it. He said the deepfake of Haggard’s wife was fabricated on “baseless allegations.”
“The story was all, ‘Well, we have anonymous sources.’ Well, who are the anonymous sources? They wouldn’t tell me,” Beckwith said Monday night. (24sight News does not reveal sources who have been promised confidentiality.)
Puls attended Beckwith’s town hall Monday night.
Beckwith has also been conducting an internal probe of his office to try and learn who spoke with 24sight News for the story Saturday, according to people familiar with his leak investigation.
News of the deepfake video burned through Indiana political circles over the past weekend and into Monday, stoked by questions of who knew about the incident when it happened months ago.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Braun distanced them from Beckwith’s office Monday in a statement to 24sight News.
“The Governor’s office does not have authority over the Lieutenant Governor’s human resources matters, nor over those of any of elected official,” Braun spokeswoman Molly Craft said in a statement.
Haggard confronted Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray at a parade Sunday after hearing that the state Senate leader had learned of the deepfake video in April. (Beckwith formally presides over the Senate as the lieutenant governor of the state.)
“When given the opportunity to stand up for justice and the dignity of women, State Senate Pro Tem Rod Bray said ‘I don’t care.’ The Governor’s office, through a press staffer, said ‘The Governor’s office does not have authority over the Lieutenant Governor’s human resources matters,’” Haggard said in his statement. “Their lack of empathy is a disgusting display of disrespect for every female public servant who works in the Braun administration.”
Bray said Tuesday that he only learned of the deepfake video Sunday afternoon and did not say he “didn’t care” when he spoke with Haggard.
“I get why he’s angry, but I just said I didn’t know anything about it,” Bray said. Deepfakes “are horrible, they’re criminal for a reason. So I hate that for him and his wife and his family, that’s atrocious for him to have to go through this.”
Bray said he had not been contacted by the Marion County Prosecutor’s office. Bray added, “I don’t know anything about the allegation, that’s a different office from ours.”
Nonconsensual deepfakes, which make it appear that (primarily women and young women targets) are naked have been the subject of widespread and bipartisan action over the last year or so.
The President signed the Take It Down Act — spearheaded by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) — in May. The legislation criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate images, including deepfake videos.
Public figures, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have been victims of deepfake pornographic images. First Lady Melania Trump emerged as a staunch advocate for criminalizing non-consensual fake imagery, appearing at a Capitol Hill roundtable earlier this year to push for the bill's passage.
Under the legislation, online platforms are required to remove reported content within 48 hours and take steps to prevent it from being reposted. Offenders face up to two years of imprisonment, with longer sentences for cases involving minors.
- 24sight News reporters Juliegrace Brufke and Max Cassett contributed to this report.
*** In case you missed me last night, you can catch up on the Indiana deepfake scandal here in my interview on LiveNow from Fox with Andrew Craft.
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