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Indianapolis, IN – March 3, 2025 – A legal storm is brewing in Marion County as former congressional candidate Gabriel "Gabe" Whitley has filed a lawsuit against Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, alleging official misconduct related to an arrest over a tweet. The lawsuit, filed in December 2024, claims that Mears colluded with Indianapolis-based political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz to orchestrate Whitley's arrest at a critical time last year, enabling Shabazz to secure a $400,000 default judgment against Whitley in a defamation lawsuit. Now, a default judgment has been filed against Mears himself, escalating the stakes in this contentious legal battle.
Whitley alleges that Mears, leveraging his authority as prosecutor, coordinated with Shabazz to ensure Whitley’s arrest in August 2024 coincided with a defamation lawsuit hearing initiated by Shabazz. According to Whitley, this arrest prevented him from appearing in court to defend himself, allowing Shabazz to obtain what Whitley calls an "illegal" $400,000 judgment. Whitley’s arrest stemmed from felony intimidation charges after he posted tweets encouraging violence against Shabazz, including sharing Shabazz’s home address and inflammatory statements. Whitley maintains that the arrest was a politically motivated abuse of power, orchestrated to silence him and secure the defamation win for Shabazz.
Central to Whitley’s lawsuit is his claim of a deep personal and professional relationship between Mears and Shabazz. Whitley asserts he has evidence, including multiple appearances by Mears on Shabazz’s podcast, where the two reportedly joked about their friendship. These interactions, Whitley argues, demonstrate a conflict of interest and suggest that Mears used his prosecutorial authority to protect Shabazz and target Whitley. "This isn’t justice—it’s a vendetta," Whitley said in a statement. "Mears and Shabazz worked together to lock me up so Abdul could fleece me for $400,000, and I’ve got the proof to show it."
The lawsuit seeks significant remedies, including a request for the court to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and charge Mears with official misconduct, a Class 6 felony in Indiana punishable by up to two-and-a-half years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Whitley’s legal team contends that Mears’ actions violated his oath of office and undermined the integrity of the justice system, accusing him of selective prosecution to benefit a friend. They point to an alleged double standard, noting that Shabazz reportedly posted Whitley’s address and threatened him earlier without facing similar charges from Mears’ office.
If the default judgment against Mears is approved—indicating he failed to respond to the lawsuit in a timely manner—and if he is subsequently convicted of official misconduct, the consequences could reshape Marion County’s prosecutorial leadership. Under Indiana law, a felony conviction would disqualify Mears from holding office, triggering a special caucus election by the Democratic Precinct Committee members in Marion County to select a new prosecutor to serve out his term. Mears, who has been in office since 2019 after being appointed to replace Terry Curry and later elected in 2022, has positioned himself as a reform-minded prosecutor, notably refusing to prosecute simple marijuana possession cases and focusing on violent crime reduction. However, this scandal threatens to derail his tenure.
The case has ignited debate over prosecutorial accountability and free speech boundaries. Whitley, a self-described "MAGA" conservative who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District in 2024, has framed the lawsuit as a fight against a corrupt establishment. Critics, however, point to Whitley’s own legal troubles—he recently pleaded guilty in January 2025 to falsifying campaign finance records in a federal case—as evidence of his questionable credibility. Meanwhile, Mears has faced prior scrutiny from Republican lawmakers for his prosecutorial decisions, though he has not yet publicly commented on this lawsuit.
As of now, the default judgment against Mears awaits judicial review. If granted, it could pave the way for a Special Prosecutor to step in, potentially leading to criminal charges and a seismic shift in Marion County’s political landscape. For Whitley, the lawsuit represents a chance to overturn the $400,000 defamation judgment and hold Mears accountable. For Mears, it’s a test of his reputation and authority as the county’s top law enforcement official. With the current date being March 3, 2025, all eyes are on the courts—and the Democratic Precinct Committee—as this drama unfolds.