New U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana celebrates homecoming with new role

U.S. Attorney Wheeler, joined by his wife and family members, is sworn in by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon on stage at the Indiana War Memorial. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana

For Thomas Wheeler II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, his new role is also a homecoming. From attending Pike High School to meeting his wife at Indiana University in Bloomington, Wheeler shared his gratitude for being back in Indiana to lead the southern district’s law enforcement efforts from Lafayette to Evansville and every city in between.

While he technically began working in the role as interim U.S. attorney last July, when President Donald Trump nominated him for the position, Wheeler was sworn in at his investiture ceremony at the Indiana War Memorial on March 11.

“It was like a wedding,” he said. “You have all your family, you have all your friends. … It was just, it was fun.”

The ceremony, which boasted a crowd of 250 people in attendance, emphasized service, not only to the United States of America but to the Southern District and the Indianapolis communities. Each program handed out at the event featured a handheld copy of the inscription found on the north side of the war memorial, which commemorates the sacrifice of U.S. service members during World War I.

Wheeler’s grandfather, Thomas Wheeler I, served in the first world war. His son, Thomas Wheeler III, served in the U.S. Navy. Wheeler relished the ability to thank those in attendance for their own service, many of whom worked with him at the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as acting general counsel, and the National Sheriff’s Association, where he worked as general counsel for the more than 3,300 elected sheriffs across the U.S.

With a background in education and law enforcement, Wheeler naturally has several job priorities on both fronts.

As expected, the U.S. Attorney’s office will continue its battle against drug and firearm misuse across the Southern District, he said. One way he plans to do so is by continuing to support law enforcement as they work to keep dangerous individuals off the streets. Supporting police makes a difference, he said, and will be accomplished through the attorney’s office by pursuing cases involving repeat offenders.

Wheeler also wants to prioritize school safety in the position. Apart from his role as acting general counsel for the Department of Education, Wheeler also served as senior adviser to the White House Federal Commission on School Safety, which was tasked with assessing school violence issues following the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

He also served as senior counsel to the secretary of education during the COVID-19 pandemic, working to establish plans to safely reopen schools.

Another layer of school safety he plans to emphasize is the investigation of child exploitation both here in Indiana and across the country. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana has a recorded history of investigating the crime, including the 2021 sentencing of Buster Hernandez, a California man who was found to have used sextortion against at least 375 minors and threatened several Indianapolis schools and businesses as part of his offense.

“It happens here, because the parents don’t understand who their kids are talking to,” he said. “They let them take their phones to sleep with them … and they just don’t understand how dangerous it is. So, I’m doing that on a national basis, but also we’re doing it locally.”

A priority he has in his own office is emboldening the work his staff is doing. He feels confident in the people he works with and said he wants to give them the space and resources to do their jobs well.

Overall, Wheeler said he’s looking forward to being able to make a difference in his own backyard. Being from the Indianapolis area, he sees it as a great place to live and grow a family and he’s set on improving and maintaining safety for years to come.

“If we don’t make Indianapolis a safe place to live, that’s a waste of time. People are not going to move here, they’re not going to bring their businesses here, they’re not going to put them downtown. And we’ve got to make sure that the investment that we’ve made down here to do this, people feel safe coming downtown,” he said.