When was Jim Lucas arrested? Misdemeanor charges explored as Indiana Rep. sparks online backlash for flashing gun at high school

Indiana state Rep Jim Lucas has come under fire for opening his coat and flashing his holstered gun at high school kids who were on a visit to the Statehouse to advocate for gun safety as part of the annual Advocacy Day. The students who visited and argued with Jim about guns on Tuesday, January 30 were from Muncie's Burris Laboratory School.

Some of the students, who were all part of the Students Demand Action gun advocacy group reportedly felt threatened and "unsafe" by Jim's actions. Back in May of last year Lucas was arrested and booked for driving intoxicated, striking two guardrails, and leaving the scene of the crime by driving the wrong way. However, the representative did not spend time in prison for the incident.

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Jim Lucas drove intoxicated and struck down two guardrails last year

As per Fox 59, back in May 2023, Rep Jim Lucas, who was driving a 2012 Toyota Tundra while at the State Road 11 and Interstate 65 interchange, drove off an overpass and struck down two guardrails before circling back in the wrong direction and driving off. According to Indiana state police, Jim's truck was running on rims with three missing tires.

Jim was later found by a police officer walking across State Road 11 while his severely damaged truck was found parked behind the Carpet Gallery on State Road 11, almost 3 miles south of the site of the crash. Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that Jim failed multiple sobriety tests including being unable to walk in a straight line and having a blood alcohol content of .097.

Bodycam footage of the arrest was later released and it showcased Jim initially refusing to admit to the officers that he caused the crash. He later said that he had swerved his vehicle to miss a deer and drove home with three tires shot because he thought that he could make it home.

Later in June, the Jackson County prosecutor charged Jim Lucas with two misdemeanors, a Class C misdemeanor of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and a Class B misdemeanor of leaving the scene of an accident. Jim pled guilty to the charges and reached a plea agreement.

The first charge gave him a 60-day suspended sentence and the second charge hit him with a 180-day suspended sentence. He was sentenced to serve a year of probation but that could be cut in half if he paid $4,000 in damages to the Indiana Department of Transportation, paid the court and probation fees, and completed a drug and alcohol program.

He was also ordered to attend a victim impact panel along with substance abuse screenings. While speaking to a WIBC radio show in June after the accident, Jim Lucas said at the time:

"I screwed up. I’m human, I made a mistake, and then compounded it with some bad decision making."

He added:

"One bad decision should not weigh on a person’s integrity or their capabilities for the rest of their life."

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"People that want to kill you don’t care about your feelings": Jim Lucas tells high schoolers

Jim Lucas came under fire again on Tuesday, this time for flashing his holstered gun to a bunch of high school kids. Burris Laboratory School's Students Demand Action members along with a chaperone, Alison Case had traveled to the Statehouse to advocate against gun violence at the annual Advocacy Day event.

According to The Statehouse File, the students met Jim Lucas while on an elevator and the curious representative invited them outside to debate the topic of gun legislation. 17-year-old Makynna Fivecoats filmed a video of the interaction, which went viral all over social media.

Jim Lucas could be heard telling the kids that there were "little kids" that competed with handguns. Lucas tells the kids that he is carrying a gun "right now" and opens his coat to reveal the weapon. One kid responded by saying that nothing about a person carrying a gun made her "feel safe" and it instead made her "feel threatened". Lucas responded:

"Those are feelings. I’m talking facts."

He added:

"People that want to kill you don’t care about your feelings."

Netizens criticized Jim Lucas and tore his "facts" argument to shreds. People also reflected Lucas' actions to the current state of Indiana and even claimed that he was sexist for devaluing female concerns as simply "feelings".

Here are a few reactions to the re-post of the viral clip by X user, @Gregnus_2024:

Legally, lawmakers along with their staffers are allowed to carry firearms in the statehouse building. Makynna Fivecoats later told The Statehouse File that her "heart sank" when the incident occurred and that it made her feel "unsafe" and want for the conversation to simply end. She told the outlet:

"My heart sank to my stomach."

She added:

"I want to say that's not how he meant it, but when you show someone that you have a gun on you, there's no way really other to mean (anything) besides a threat."

When approached by the Statehouse File regarding the incident, Lucas said that he simply showed the kids an "inanimate object" to prove his point and stated that if they needed to have adult conversations they needed to "handle adult situations". He criticized the way the kids handled the situation after he showed them something that was "protected by our Constitution".