PRESS RELEASE

Date:  October 25, 2022

From:  Allen Stevens

"Nearly three decades ago, while still a teenager, I was involved in an incident that was both foolish and insensitive. On the night of March 25th, 1993, a friend and I burned a cross in the yard of another South Central student that other students and we believed to be a rapist. We attempted to take justice into our own hands in a horribly shortsighted and ill-conceived way. The local media widely reported the incident at that time, and because it occurred at a black family’s house, it was presumed to be racially motivated. 

I was embarrassed and ashamed to have been a participant, and on March 30th, 1993, I voluntarily set up a meeting with the police to confess to my involvement. As the police documents from the time describe, and I restate now, this was never meant to send a message of racial hatred. I would later plead guilty to Class A misdemeanor Trespass and was sentenced to 180 days probation, 20 hours of community service, and fined $50. I expressed my apologies for my actions at that time, and I will reiterate my regret and apologies now. What we did was wrong. It was insensitive, and it caused hurt to others in a profoundly regrettable way. 

I owned up to my mistake, accepted the punishment accorded to me, and I have spent my entire adult life working to make my community, my county, and my state a better place for all, regardless of race, age, or gender. I am no longer that foolish teenager. I’m 48 years old now. I’m married, I’ve raised four kids, and I have five grandkids with another on the way. The mistakes of that night have made their mark on me, and I can only hope that in the end, I will be judged not by one night but by an entire life that was lived after it. 

I won the election as Chairman of the La Porte County Republican Party by a nearly 3 to 1 margin running on a platform of diversity, inclusion, and expanding the party’s reach to non-traditional party members. As Chairman, I have worked to expand the number of minority candidates and precinct committee members. I have aggressively lobbied the county government for a minority hiring ordinance and also for the observance of Juneteenth as a county holiday. Some will try to portray that what happened in 1993 makes me a racist today. That’s simply not true. It doesn’t work that way. 

We live in a politicized country where even teenage mistakes will be paraded out in front of everyone whenever others view it to be politically expedient. But I ask why now? Would not the time to bring this back up have been when I ran for State Senate or when I ran for Party Chairman or in the context of the deep public outcry about racial inequity after the killing of George Floyd? 

We are just a few weeks before an election where many of our talented local Republican candidates are in close races and poised to win. I am not on the ballot; this election isn’t about me or my past. I suspect this is resurfacing now to put those candidates in uncomfortable positions or attempt to harm their campaigns. They shouldn’t be collateral damage to my past. In politics, we all live in glass houses, and as much as we talk about not throwing stones, sometimes it is just too tempting for the other side to be the first one to start. 

I will always be sorry for that night. I will always try to live my life better and in service to others in spite of that mistake. I am sorry for the pain this being thrust back into the spotlight will cause the victims and my friends and family, who will unwillingly be placed in the public eye. We all live with things we wish we could take back. This is mine."