JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Protesters from across Indiana on Sunday said they don’t want Camp Atterbury to become a concentration camp.

About 200 people gathered at a park just outside Camp Atterbury to protest its planned use as a temporary detention facility for suspected illegal immigrants. Amanda Burkman, who drove to the protest from Jennings County, said those plans amount to turning Camp Atterbury into a concentration camp akin to the World War II camp sites she has visted in Europe.

“I’ve seen what they’re doing in Alligator Alcatraz and I know that (Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem) is referring to what they’re doing in Indiana as the Speedway Slammer,” she said. “I don’t want that in my state, I don’t want that in my country.”

Krista Johnson Weichsel said she was one of about 20 members of Tapestry Church in Bargersville who attended the protest. She said she wanted to teach her children about kindness and she believes the government is not demonstrating that value.

“We try to welcome the stranger. That’s what our faith teaches us,” she said. “This is happening right in our backyard. It’s an embarassment.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last month said Camp Atterbury and New Jersey’s Joint Base Dix-Lakehurst would serve as ICE detention facilities. Camp Atterbury is a federal facility under the Indiana National Guard’s management. So far, no detainees have been held there.

Gov. Mike Braun said as recently as last week officials are still figuring out which roles ICE and the Indiana National Guard will fill in running the facility.

Indiana Republicans have consistently said they support the use of Camp Atterbury as an ICE detention facility. Congresswoman Erin Houchin told News 8 late last week the Trump administration was well within its right to use the facility that way and she had no concerns about Camp Atterbury’s ability to accommodate detainees.

Protesters repeatedly drew contrasts between the ICE proposal and Camp Atterbury’s history. During WWII, Wakeman General Hospital at the base treated more than 85,000 patients. In 2021, Afghan refugees were temporarily housed at Camp Atterbury following the fall of Kabul. Protest organizer Brad Meyer, who plans to run against Houchin in next year’s Congressional election as a Democrat, said the ICE plan runs counter to that history.

Protesters concluded their demonstration with a drive-by of Camp Atterbury’s main gate. Meyer said he plans to organize another protest outside Houchin’s Salem field office in October.

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