Nathan and Nick Roberts are twin brothers who have captured national attention with a message: family comes before politics, no matter how deep the divide.
Indianapolis witnessed an unusual spectacle earlier this month when the identical twin brothers found themselves testifying on opposite sides of a contentious redistricting debate at the Indiana Statehouse.
The moment sparked confusion among attendees and later prompted one of the brothers to issue a public clarification.
The story went viral after Nick posted a video that caught the attention of thousands across social media. His twin brother Nathan didn’t even know about it at first.
“I’m like, what is this?” Nathan Roberts said. “Why am I getting followed by so many random journalists? I’m like, ‘that’s strange’ … I have a friend, and he said, ‘Oh, I love the video your brother posted,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh God, he posted a video.’”
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The brothers sit on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
Nathan Roberts runs Save Heritage Indiana, a nonprofit organization that supports grassroots efforts to end illegal immigration in the state.
His brother Nick holds vastly different political views.
The twins disagree on nearly every major political issue facing America today.
Despite their differences, the Roberts brothers say they harbor no animosity toward each other whatsoever. The twins even appeared together on Newsmax to discuss gerrymandering.
Nathan explained their approach to political discussions. “The thing is, we never argue about politics,” Nathan said.
“If we’re discussing something, he’s one of the few people I can go to. He can not change my mind on stuff, but he can give me a new perspective.”
At home, the brothers maintain a clear priority: family over politics.
Nick emphasized the importance of maintaining dialogue rather than severing relationships over political disagreements.
“I really do think that having these conversations and honest points of dialogue is how we actually make a difference,” Nick said.
He continued with a warning about the consequences of political division within families.
“Cutting people out of your life because of politics is not just something that’s not good to do, but also more important, I don’t think it works. I think it gets people dug in a lot of times more,” Nick said.
Nathan offered a broader perspective on family relationships.
“You have one family in the world,” Nathan said. “You might as well make the best of it. Everybody has issues.”
The brothers credit their grandmother with wisdom that has helped shape their approach to family dynamics. Nathan shared her perspective on family relationships.
“Our grandma has a saying which says, ‘if there was not dysfunctional families, there would be no families at all,’” Nathan said.
Nick, elected to the Indianapolis City-County Council in 2023, has focused his first term on public safety, mental health programs and infrastructure improvements.
His political awakening came after the 2016 presidential election. “I was very frustrated with the direction our country was going in,” Nick recalled of that period in an interview with TIME.
He subsequently pursued Democratic Party internships, volunteered on campaigns and ultimately launched his own successful council bid.
Nathan has taken a different path, though he does not hold elected office.
In September, he co-founded Save Heritage Indiana, a nonprofit organization opposing what it terms “mass migration” on grounds that such policies diminish Indiana’s distinct character.
