Federal court documents charge officials with perjury in lawsuit related to Louisiana grain terminals
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A southeastern Louisiana official has been charged with perjury for failing to disclose controversial grain shipments from the state’s Mississippi River Chemical Corridor in response to a lawsuit filed by a prominent local climate activist. Information about the pier.
St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard denied in a deposition that she knew her mother-in-law might benefit financially from the parish’s rezoning plan for 222 acres (90 hectares) along the Mississippi River. to make way for grain export facilities.
Hotard also said under oath in court documents that there were no letters between her and her mother-in-law regarding the grain terminal, although her mother-in-law later turned over numerous text messages in which they discussed the grain terminal and nearby The property belongs to my mother-in-law’s shipping company.
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The text messages were disclosed as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Joy Banner, who was accused of murdering her sister Joe Banner earlier this year. Jo Banner led the successful campaign to stop an $800 million grain terminal from being built within 300 feet (91 meters) of their property, near historic sites in the black neighborhood where they grew up.
The legal battle is part of a broader conflict in court and in public hearings pitting officials eager to give the green light to economic development on the one hand and those challenging the economic crisis between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on the other. Grassroots community groups fighting the expansion of polluting industries along the 85-mile Industrial Corridor.
“We’re residents just trying to protect our homes and just trying to live the way we have the right to do,” Banner told The Associated Press in an interview.
The Banner sisters gained national attention after co-founding the Descendants Project, an organization dedicated to historic preservation and racial justice.
In text messages turned over in Joy Banner’s lawsuit, Parish President Hotard said she wanted to “choke” Joy Banner and used profanities to describe her. Hotard also said of the Banner sisters: “I hate these people.”
Hotard and her attorney, Ike Spears, did not respond to requests for comment after Tuesday’s filing. Richard John Tomeny, an attorney representing Hotard’s mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, declined to comment.
Banner originally sued the diocese in federal court in December 2023 after Hotard and another parish council member, Michael Wright, threatened to arrest her and bar her from attending a November 2023 council meeting. Speaking during public comment.
“In summary: A white man threatened a black woman with prosecution and imprisonment for speaking out during public comment at a public meeting,” Banner’s lawsuit states. It accuses the diocese of violating Banner’s First Amendment case rights.
Wright and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Hotard and Wright disputed Banner’s version of events in court documents.
At the November 2023 meeting, Banner sought to highlight Hotard’s alleged conflict of interest in approving a zoning change to build a grain export facility. Banner also recently filed a complaint against Hotard with the Louisiana Ethics Commission, noting that her mother-in-law will allegedly benefit financially because she owns and manages a marine transportation company that operates in the redistricted area.” Own land nearby and within.
In response to a discovery request, Hotard filed a court document saying “no such document exists” between her and her mother-in-law discussing the property, the grain terminal or Joy Ban, according to a recent motion filed by Banner’s attorneys. Accept. Hotard also said in her August testimony that she knew “nothing” about the land owned by her mother-in-law’s company, although text messages showed Hotard and her mother-in-law had discussed the property less than three weeks before Hotard’s testimony .
Banner’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial early next year.
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Brooke is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on social platform X: @jack_brook96
