Courts Award Indy Politics Publisher More Than $3 Million in Defamation Cases

By Indy Politics 

Indiana courts have entered judgments in two defamation cases brought by Indy Politics publisher Abdul-Hakim Shabazz against Gabriel “Gabe” Whitley, resulting in combined court-ordered exposure exceeding $3 million and marking a significant legal reckoning in a series of disputes rooted in false criminal accusations made online.

Whitley is a former Republican candidate for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District and has publicly identified himself as the publisher of the Hoosier Enquirer website. His political activity and online presence drew wider attention after federal prosecutors charged him with campaign finance violations related to falsified Federal Election Commission filings. Whitley ultimately served time in federal prison for campaign finance fraud. Separately, he currently faces a pending Level 6 felony intimidation charge in Marion County, where prosecutors allege threats involving the commission of a forcible felony. That criminal case remains active and unresolved.

The civil litigation at issue unfolded across two Marion County courts. In the first case, Shabazz v. Whitley (Cause No. 49D03-2508-CT-039066), filed in Marion Superior Court 3 in August 2025, Shabazz alleged defamation, defamation per se, and intentional infliction of emotional distress based on false accusations of criminal conduct. Court records reflect that Whitley was properly served but failed to file a responsive pleading. After the court granted leave to supplement the exhibit record, Judge Gary L. Miller entered default judgment as to liability and set the case for a damages hearing.

That hearing took place on Nov. 13, 2025. Shabazz appeared and presented argument; Whitley did not. Following the hearing, the court awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages, entering a total judgment of $1,550,000 plus court costs. The judgment was formally entered on Nov. 14 and remains active.

A second case, Shabazz v. Whitley (Cause No. 49D06-2412-CT-058623), proceeded in Marion Superior Court 6. In an order issued Dec. 9, 2025, Magistrate Katie Melnick found that Whitley was properly served but failed to appear, answer, or otherwise respond to the complaint. The order further noted that Whitley briefly appeared via WebEx for the scheduled hearing but voluntarily terminated his appearance before the matter was called on the record, prompting the court to proceed in his absence. The court granted default judgment as to liability and reserved the issue of damages for determination by separate order following supplemental submissions. While damages have not yet been set in that case, the liability ruling places additional monetary exposure on the table.

Taken together, the two cases reflect repeated findings by Indiana courts that Whitley failed to meaningfully engage in the civil litigation process after receiving notice and an opportunity to be heard. The combined effect of the rulings places the total value of judgments and potential damages across the two matters above $3 million.

In filings and arguments before the courts, Shabazz has consistently framed the litigation not as an effort to suppress political disagreement, but as an attempt to impose accountability when online activism crosses the line into false accusations of criminal behavior. The argument advanced to the courts draws a distinction long recognized in defamation law: political opinion is protected, but knowingly false statements of fact—particularly allegations of criminal conduct—are not. In an era where such claims can be published instantly and amplified widely, Shabazz argued that civil courts remain one of the few effective mechanisms for accountability.

The Whitley judgments are part of a broader landscape of defamation litigation involving Shabazz, including pending cases against John Schmitz, Jeremiah “Hoss” Tevebaugh, David Waters, and Eddie Hagar, all of which remain at various stages of proceedings. No final judgments have yet been entered in those matters.

Shabazz represented himself in the Whitley cases. Indy Politics discloses that it reports on litigation involving its publisher when the proceedings raise broader legal or public-interest issues.