Tom DeCola’s 2019 removal from the Starke County Council has been upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals. He was elected in November of 2018 and voted off by council members the following February.
DeCola’s removal came amid allegations that he went to an Association of Indiana Counties conference in Indianapolis and said certain religious and racial minorities would no longer be allowed in Starke County.
DeCola’s claim for wrongful expulsion was eventually dismissed by a Marshall County judge last December. The Court of Appeals affirmed that decision last week, saying “DeCola failed to support his arguments on appeal with cogent reasoning and citations to authority.” DeCola chose to represent himself throughout the process, and the Court of Appeals found his brief “incomprehensible,” saying they could not make sense of his argument.
