Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sues major Black Lives Matter organization

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is taking a major Black Lives Matter organization to court.

The Republican official wants a judge to compel the group to produce documents he’s been asking for.

While Black Lives Matter is a movement, it’s also the name of organizations around the world. One of the foremost is the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, founded in 2013. It has chapters around the country, including in Indiana.

Rokita started an investigation into the global foundation a couple months ago, seeking information about how the group was using donations made by Hoosiers.

Now, the attorney general is taking BLM to court because he said it hasn’t turned over requested documents. Rokita alleged that the organization said it raised over $90 million in 2020 and shared some of those resources with chapters that included South Bend but reported to the IRS that year that it had zero dollars in “revenue, expenses, and assets.”

A group of BLM chapters has previously called for greater transparency from the global network foundation.

In a statement, Black Lives Matter South Bend said it has been "fully cooperating" with Rokita's investigation.

"Because our chapter received funding from the [Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation] to support our local organizing work, Rokita’s office also asked us to provide information about our operations and relationship with the foundation in a fact-finding capacity," Black Lives Matter South Bend said in a statement.

The group said it has used all its resources to help the community and believe it's best to cooperate with the attorney general's investigation.

"We have nothing to hide and we will not be derailed," BLM South Bend said.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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