Louisiana

Louisiana lawmakers consider making it easier to sentence more minors to adult prisons • Louisiana Illuminator

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2024

Louisiana lawmakers consider making it easier to sentence more minors to adult prisons • Louisiana Illuminator

In a special lawmaking session focused on tax policy, Louisiana lawmakers are also quietly moving legislation that could lead to more underage youth being sent to adult prisons.

The Louisiana Senate’s Judiciary C committee voted 4-1 Thursday in favor of a state constitutional amendment to remove limitations on the number of crimes for which youth under the age of 17 could be sentenced as if they are adults.

Senate Bill 2 would allow legislators to craft new laws that expand the court’s ability to send minors – 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds – to adult prisons. The proposal alarms advocates for children, who believe it further erodes protections for youth.

It also comes on the heels of a new law passed earlier this year that treats all 17-year-olds as adults when it comes to the criminal justice system. The measure took away discretion from district attorneys to put 17-year-olds through the juvenile justice system instead of adult courts.

In Louisiana, 15- and 16-year-olds, and in more limited circumstances 14-year-olds, can already face adult prison sentences, though only for limited crimes. These include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated battery, a second or subsequent burglary of an inhabited dwelling and a second or subsequent violation of some drug crimes.

The constitutional amendment, proposed by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, would strike that specific list from a juvenile justice provision in the constitution. Instead, she wants to insert language allowing a minor to be charged like an adult for “any crime” as long as lawmakers pass new laws to do so.

Any of those new laws would face a higher threshold for approval than most statutes — a two-thirds majority of both legislative chambers, not just a simple majority — before they could take effect.

The amendment on its own also faces some hurdles before it can be enacted. Two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives have to vote in favor of it. Voters then have to approve it through a statewide election, which would either be scheduled for late March or November of 2025.

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At Wednesday’s hearing, Cloud characterized her amendment as a minor adjustment that is “not going to change the law.” Advocates for children and incarcerated people strongly disagreed with that sentiment.

“It’s a real profound social failure when we have to give up on kids,” said Michael Cahoon, speaking on behalf of the Promise of Justice Initiative advocacy organization, which opposes the legislation.

Cloud and Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration, which supports the amendment, were vague Thursday about the new types of crime they might want to use to transfer minors to adult court.

At the hearing, Cloud initially mentioned concerns that minors couldn’t currently be charged as adults with carjacking but later told her colleagues to avoid focusing on carjacking as the reason she has filed the legislation.

Chris Walters, who handles criminal justice policy for the governor, told legislators that the current constitutional restrictions make it difficult to punish teenagers appropriately for drive-by shootings, property damage and assaults that take place at state juvenile justice facilities.

But Kristen Rome, executive director for the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, said district attorneys who want to transfer teenagers to adult courts for the crimes Walters and Cloud listed at the hearing can already do so.

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For example, younger teens who carry out carjackings can be charged with armed robbery as if they are adults under the current constitution restrictions, Rome said. Youth who participate in drive-by shootings can already be charged with the adult version of murder or attempted murder, she explained.

Terry Landry Jr., a lobbyist with the Southern Poverty Law Center, urged legislators to hold off on moving the constitutional change until more was known about the effects of automatically transferring 17-year-olds to the adult criminal system.

Landry Jr., who is not related to the governor, cited a recent article by ProPublica and Verite News that showed nearly 70% of 17-year-olds arrested as if they were adults under the new law in East Baton Rouge, Jefferson and Orleans parishes were accused of nonviolent crimes.

Louisiana sheriffs are already struggling to accommodate 17-year-olds moved from juvenile facilities into the adult system as the result of the law the Legislature approved earlier this year.

While Louisiana state law may consider a 17-year-old an adult for criminal justice purposes, the federal government does not. In order to comply with federal law, sheriffs have to keep anyone under age 18 separate from adult detainees and provide them with educational services.

Sheriffs have complained they don’t have the space in their jails or resources to meet these federal requirements. Many are spending money to house the 17-year-olds at a special facility in Jackson Parish in order not to run afoul of federal or state mandates.

It’s not clear how local law enforcement feels about Cloud’s proposal.

In an usual move, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and Louisiana Sheriffs Association did not testify or attend Wednesday’s hearing on Cloud’s bill. As two of the more powerful lobbying groups at the Capitol, they typically weigh in on most criminal justice proposals that directly affect their respective memberships.

Despite its uncertainty, Cloud’s bill gained approval from the Senate committee that Republicans dominate. Democrats make up about a third of the Louisiana Senate but account for only one of the seven senators on the Judiciary C committee.

Sen. Regina Barrow, of Baton Rouge, is the committee’s only Democrat and was the lone no vote against Cloud’s legislation. She expressed concern over the “law and order” approach to disciplining youth.

“I do not believe kids are born bad. I just don’t,” she said.

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Louisiana

Louisiana lands another $10 billion AI data center

Published

4 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Louisiana lands another billion AI data center

Hut 8 is building a new $10 billion artificial intelligence data center in Louisiana’s West Feliciana Parish.
The project is expected to employ more than 1,000 construction workers at its peak.
AI company Anthropic has signed a long-term deal to use the new facility.
This is the second major data center project announced in Louisiana, following Meta’s investment in Richland Parish.

Louisiana has finalized details on another $10 billion data center, this one from Hut 8 in West Feliciana Parish.,

Hut 8, which develops and operates an integrated portfolio of power, digital infrastructure and compute assets, said more than 1,000 construction workers will be on site of its River Bend artificial intelligence (AI) data center campus at its peak.

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company whose flagship chatbot is Claude, has signed a long-term deal to use the facility, Hut 8 and the state announced Dec. 17.

“It’s a transformational and generational project for our parish and region,” West Feliciana Parish President Kenny Havard said in an interview with USA Today Network. “The possibilities really are endless.”

The official announcement and details come after months of preparation from the parish government and its partnership with the state for the data center on which construction has been underway for months.

It’s the second $10 billion plus data center announced in Louisiana during the past two years. Meta’s massive data center project is under way in northeastern Louisiana’s Richland Parish. Meta originally announced a $10 billion investment but has since increased that scope to at least $25 billion.

“Hut 8’s investment in River Bend builds on our track record of attracting global-scale projects in the industries of the future,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement. “As the campus grows, it will further cement Louisiana’s position as a national leader in energy and innovation, creating thousands of jobs and reaffirming our ability to compete and win on the global stage.”

Construction is scheduled to be complete in the second quarter of 2027.

“River Bend demonstrates that Louisiana’s economic strategy is taking our state from plans to progress,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said in a statement. “This project will generate high-wage jobs and create pathways for Louisianans to build long-term careers in the industries of the future. It’s a clear example of how aligning policy, partnership and people translates into lasting opportunity.”

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

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Louisiana

Louisiana man arrested for allegedly planning attack in New Orleans – UPI.com

Published

16 hours ago

December 17, 2025

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Louisiana man arrested for allegedly planning attack in New Orleans – UPI.com

Dec. 16 (UPI) — A suspect identified as Micah James Legnon has been arrested by agents from the FBI’s New Iberia office for allegedly planning an attack on federal agents.

Legnon, 29, was a member of the Turtle Island Liberation Front and had communicated with four members who were charged with allegedly planning a series of New Year’s Eve terrorist attacks in the Greater Los Angeles area on Monday, WDSU reported.

He is a resident of New Iberia and was arrested on Friday while driving to New Orleans after FBI agents saw him loading a military-style rifle and body armor into his vehicle and telling others in a Signal chat group that he was traveling to New Orleans.

New Iberia is located about 120 miles west of New Orleans, and Legnon allegedly shared a video that showed multiple firearms, gas canisters and body armor before leaving on Friday.

In that post, Legnon said he was “On my way to NOLA now, be there in about two hours,” but the FBI arrested him while driving east on U.S. Highway 90, according to WWL-TV.

In a Dec. 4 post, Legnon shared a Facebook post showing Customs and Border Protection agents arresting someone and said he wanted to “recreate Waco, Texas,” on the federal officers while referencing the 1993 federal siege on the Branch Davidians compound there.

He is a former Marine who was trained in combat and a self-professed satanist who used the alias “Black Witch” in group chats with four suspects accused of targeting locations throughout California.

Federal prosecutors filed a federal complaint against Legnon and asked the magistrate judge to seal it and related records due to an ongoing investigation.

They asked that it be unsealed on Tuesday, which is a day after the four suspects accused of planning the California terror attacks were charged with related crimes.

The FBI said Legnon had been communicating with the four suspects in California before the arrests were made and charges filed in the respective cases.

The Turtle Island Liberation Front is a far-left, anti-government, anti-capitalist and pro-Palestinian group, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

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Louisiana

Louisiana gets $15 million for literacy tutoring study initiative

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1 day ago

December 16, 2025

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Louisiana gets million for literacy tutoring study initiative

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Department of Education announced Tuesday it was awarded $15 million to lead a study on the increasing impact of high-dosage tutoring.

The grant came from the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research program. State education leaders said the money will fund a five-year study to expand the impact of high-dosage literacy tutoring for students in grades 1-2 who are below grade level in reading.

“Louisiana has shown what’s possible when states are trusted to lead,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for their confidence in our strategy and for investing in a Louisiana-designed solution to accelerate student literacy.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said making literacy outcomes stronger throughout the nation is one of her top priorities.

“Every dollar from this year’s EIR awards will support the use and expansion of evidence-based literacy instruction, expand education choice, and empower grant recipients to build and sustain high-quality literacy support systems for students. This is a huge opportunity for states to lead, and they are rising to the occasion,” she said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, who joined McMahon in an August education roundtable in Baton Rouge, celebrated the funding. “Strong literacy skills are the foundation for everything that comes next in school and in life,” he said. “Louisiana has shown real progress, and this funding helps take what’s working and expand it so more students can succeed.”

Schools with low literacy proficiency rates will be prioritized. Air Reading, Studyyville, Johns Hopkins University and Louisiana higher education institutions will be key partnerships in the project.