Louisiana
Court upholds suspension of LSU professor who vulgarly criticized Trump and Louisiana Governor
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana appeals court on Tuesday upheld the suspension of an LSU law professor who criticized Gov. Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump using vulgar language.
While teaching a constitutional law class last month, tenured Prof. Ken Levy stated “f(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) the Governor” and employed the expletive to talk about Trump and students who supported him.
Within a few days, LSU’s administration informed Levy he had been suspended from his teaching responsibilities “pending an investigation into student complaints of inappropriate statements made in your class,” according to a lawsuit Levy filed last week.
The three-member First Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling overturned East Baton Rouge district judge Donald Johnson’s order last week that LSU immediately reinstate Levy to his teaching role. This would require a “full evidentiary hearing,” the appeals court ruled.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday, lawyers for both parties say.
The appeals court ruling upheld the rest of the district judge’s temporary restraining order barring LSU from retaliating against Levy “on account of his protected academic freedom and free speech.”
Levy’s attorney Jill Craft said she is pleased with the appeals court’s decision to uphold “the bulk” of the restraining order on behalf of her client.
“What it means is his rights are protected and LSU can’t take any action against him and so that’s a good thing,” Craft told The Associated Press.
Jimmy Faircloth, Jr., an attorney representing LSU, said that the elements of the restraining order upheld by the appeals court are “superfluous” and “doesn’t do anything other than tell LSU ‘you can’t break the law’ which we know and we’re not doing.”
Levy’s suspension is “not a question of academic freedom” but rather about “inappropriate conduct in the classroom,” LSU’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Todd Woodward said in an emailed statement.
“Our investigation found that Professor Levy created a classroom environment that was demeaning to students who do not hold his political view, threatening in terms of their grades, and profane,” Woodward added.
Levy said in a sworn affidavit that he had made his comments “in a joking manner” in order to highlight his support for the First Amendment and to emphasize the no recording policy in his class.
Levy had issued a no recording rule “because he did not want to be Governor Landry’s next target — although that is ironically what happened,” Levy’s lawsuit said.
Last November, Gov. Landry had publicly called for LSU to discipline another law professor, Nicholas Bryner, who during a lecture criticized Trump and students who voted for him. Bryner remains employed by LSU.
In a Tuesday post on X, Landry stated that Levy’s conduct “should not be tolerated at our taxpayer funded universities.”
Levy’s lawsuit said that LSU’s actions violated his due process and “chill and restrict…free speech rights.”
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Brook 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 the social platform X: @jack_brook96.
Louisiana
Red, Rock & Blue: Registration deadline approaches for tournament benefitting La. military charities
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Red, Rock & Blue charity softball tournament to benefit Louisiana military charities is quickly approaching.
SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
- April 17 – April 19
- BREC Oak Villa | Baton Rouge
Each team will get a three-game guarantee. There are different divisions for different skill levels.
Team registration is open to the public. You can register a team online.
The deadline to register is Friday, April 10.
Click here for more information about the 32nd annual charity slow-pitch softball tournament.
Past tournaments have been held in July, but the 2026 tournament was moved to spring for the cooler temperatures.
Red Rock and Blue typically gives $50,000 or more to military charities like The Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana and Gulf Coast Veterans each year.
The Caterie Reunion IV to benefit Red Rock and Blue is also set for August 15 at The Texas Club in Baton Rouge. More information on that event, including the musical lineup and ticket sales, is coming soon.
*WAFB is a sponsor and supporter of the Red, Rock & Blue non-profit organization.
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Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Mark T. Guillory, second from right, speaks to fellow members of Save My Louisiana and, on the far left, State Treasurer Dr. John Fleming on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2025, outside the 19th Judicial District courthouse in downtown Baton Rouge. The group sued the state of Louisiana to challenge a law that allows companies seeking to do carbon capture to store the gas under private land. Fleming, a critic of carbon capture who is running for U.S. Senate, was present for the news conference held immediately after the lawsuit was filed. Guillory, a Rapides Parish resident, is one of the plaintiffs. Gary Musgrove, president of the group, is fifth from the right.
More than a dozen people were injured when a vehicle struck revelers at a parade celebrating the Lao New Year on Saturday in rural Louisiana, authorities said.
The driver was quickly arrested and charged with impaired driving, police said.
Video shared on social media showed multiple people on the ground at the annual event in Broussard and New Iberia. The videos showed firefighters tending to one person trapped beneath the car, which wound up in a ditch along the parade route.
About 15 people were hurt, some seriously, according to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, this does not appear to be an intentional act,” said a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, Rebecca Melancon.
Acadian Ambulance, a private ambulance company, said on social media that it responded to the emergency at around 2:30 p.m. and sent 10 ambulances and a helicopter to aid the injured. Two patients were airlifted, it said.
The Louisiana State Police said the driver, who is 57 and lived in Jeanerette, La., appeared impaired when police arrived and later tested positive for a high blood alcohol level. He was charged with impaired, negligent and careless driving and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.
The parade is part of a three-day New Year celebration set in the Lanexang Village, a Laotian neighborhood near New Iberia with hundreds of families near the Buddhist temple grounds of Wat Thammarattanaram.
It features Southeast Asian food, live music, a parade and other family-friendly activities attracting thousands each year.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a statement on behalf of himself and his wife about the incident. “Sharon and I are praying for all those affected, and are grateful for the first responders who have responded to the scene,” he said.
The festival’s organizers issued a statement on Facebook saying they were “profoundly saddened” by the tragedy. “We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time,” it said.
Afternoon and evening events were canceled, but the festival planned to hold religious services Sunday, the organizers said.
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