• A fire occurred at St. Mary’s Number 2 Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana on March 30.
• Nicky Lavelle Coleman, 49, was arrested and charged with simple arson of a religious building.
• Surveillance footage allegedly shows Coleman setting the fire.

The Louisiana State Marshal’s Office has arrested a man who allegedly set fire to a Monroe church.

Monroe Fire Department was dispatched just before 2 p.m. March 30 to St. Mary’s Number 2 Missionary Baptist Church at 100 Williams St. on reports of a fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters discovered heavy smoke coming from the church. Within minutes, they extinguished the blaze.

Surveillance video from a business across the street shows Nicky Lavelle Coleman, 49, allegedly setting the church on fire. “We are hoping the public can help us identify and locate the person/persons responsible,” the fire marshal’s office said.

Coleman has been booked into Ouachita Correctional Center on one count of simple arson of a religious building.

More: Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a church fire in Monroe

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A civil rights lawsuit alleging a south Louisiana parish engaged in racist land-use policies by placing polluting industries in majority-Black communities can move forward, a federal appellate court says.

On Thursday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a trio of faith-based community groups could proceed with a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in the petrochemical buildout in St. James Parish, a region in the heart of Louisiana’s heavily industrialized Chemical Corridor. It is often referred to by environmental groups as “Cancer Alley” for its high levels of pollution.

The lawsuit calls for a moratorium on the construction and expansion of petrochemical plants in St. James Parish. When the lawsuit was filed in March 2023, 20 of the 24 industrial facilities were in two sections of the parish with majority-Black populations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found in a 2003 report that St. James Parish ranked higher than the national average for certain cancer deaths. Both majority-Black sections of the parish are ranked as having a high risk of cancer from toxic pollutants according to an EPA screening tool based on emissions reported by nearby facilities, the lawsuit notes.

“We have been sounding the alarm for far too long that a moratorium is needed to halt the expansion of any more polluting industries in our neighborhoods, and too many lives have been lost to cancer,” said Gail LeBoeuf, a lifelong parish resident and co-founder of Inclusive Louisiana. She is a plaintiff in the case.

The case will now go back to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, which had previously ruled the lawsuit was filed too late by Inclusive Louisiana and other community groups because the allegations centered on a 2014 parish land-use plan.

But the federal court said the complaint was filed on time and noted that the lawsuit was “replete with allegations of discriminatory land use decisions” in the parish, of which the 2014 plan was just one example.

The court also recognized that the groups had a right to sue the parish for authorizing industrial development which “desecrates, destroys, and restricts access” to the cemeteries of their enslaved ancestors in the parish. Many of the petrochemical facilities in Louisiana are built on former plantations, and few of the burial sites of the enslaved have been preserved.

“I think it’s a real vindication of their struggle,” said Pamela Spees, a lawyer with the Center of Constitutional Rights representing the plaintiffs. “This is a case about long-running ongoing discrimination and now we get to deal with the claims on their merits.”

St. James Parish did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

—

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.

A Biden-era rule to cut toxic emissions near petrochemical plants is under threat as the Trump administration considers industry requests to delay compliance.

Nicholas Kusnetz reports for Inside Climate News.

In short:

• Industry groups asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a two-year exemption from a major air pollution rule targeting cancer-linked emissions from petrochemical plants, citing high costs and operational challenges.
• Communities in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” where many residents are Black and already exposed to high levels of chloroprene and ethylene oxide, fear the rollback would prolong their exposure to dangerous air toxins.
• The Trump administration has signaled willingness to consider waivers under a Clean Air Act clause tied to national security, putting enforcement of the emissions rule in limbo.

Key quote:

“They are now just saying publicly like this that our lives are not important when it comes to the profits of these corporations.”

— Robert Taylor, leader of Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish

Why this matters:

In the stretch of southern Louisiana between Baton Rouge and New Orleans — known grimly as “Cancer Alley” — residents have long lived in the shadow of massive petrochemical facilities. For years, public health researchers and environmental watchdogs have sounded alarms about sky-high levels of carcinogens like chloroprene and ethylene oxide in the air, particularly near predominantly Black, working-class communities. These chemicals are linked to cancers of the liver, lungs, and lymphatic system, with children facing even greater risks due to their developing bodies and higher exposure rates. Under the Biden administration, some steps were taken to tighten emissions standards and invest in air monitoring, but now, as President Trump resumes efforts to cut regulations in the name of economic growth and national security, those modest gains could be undone.

Learn more: