MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Many Northeast Louisiana residents have expressed their thoughts following Donald Trump’s Saturday Pennsylvania rally where an assassination attempt was made on his life.

When asked about the shooting, one local said that this violent act shows just how much politics has divided the nation.

“Oh, politics – that’s the main thing for division. You know? I feel like that sparks division. You got the red and the blue, right versus wrong, the evil versus evil versus good, all that.”

One resident who watched the shooting live is blaming those in charge of security.

“When the fundamentals get overlooked, you know that building right there, they should have had someone there on the building. You know there’s no excuse for that.”

However, one local is hoping that everyone will come together as a nation.

“. . . I want to say God bless the situation as a whole. However, though everybody had their own opinion – Mr. Trump has his own beliefs and those who were involved have their own beliefs – so I think the world should just get along and be a better place and try to work together.”

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LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) -Louisiana’s congressional leaders are calling for swift action to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump and the murder and injuries of others.

Besides understanding how it happened they want to know how to prevent such violence in the future.   what we are hearing from our federal elected officials.

As one pundit suggested there are three wars in the world, Israel vs. Gaza, Ukraine vs Russia and Americans vs. Americans.

Louisiana’s elected officials agree a full investigation into the circumstances is needed and that violence has no place in the American political system.

“Attempting to change the course of the nation, by assassinating or trying to assassinate attempting to assassinate a president or presidential candidate is the worst form of violence there is. It doesn’t just affect the person who was shot, it affects us all,” said Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana.

Senator John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, social discontent and disagreement are inevitable but must not degenerate into hatred and violence.

“All Americans care deeply about their families, and they care deeply about their country.  I don’t have an answer for why, but what I will respectfully suggest is that we wait and try to figure out why together,” he said.

“Don’t make assumptions, don’t jump to conclusions. I’ve already heard some people saying the shooter was left wing or the shooter was a right winger, it was all political. Maybe he wasn’t left wing or right wing. He was just a broken wing,” said Kennedy.

They want the investigation and an upcoming hearing to identify the failure to stop the gunman.

“We need to find out why he was apparently climbing up on top of a building with a rifle and no one went after him,” said Cassidy.

“We’ll figure all this out together. In the meantime, let’s respect each other’s humanity,” said Kennedy.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has been asked to hold a hearing on the Trump assassination attempt.

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LAKE CHARLES, La. (KLFY) – A Calcasieu Parish man was sentenced on Friday for child pornography.

Gabriel Lyons, 26, of Sulphur, was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, on child pornography charges. According to court documents, Lyons was communicating with a 15-year-old minor girl in July 2022 and began asking her for sexually explicit images and videos. Lyons would engage in “cybersexing” with the minor. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip in August 2022 and began an investigation.

Law enforcement determined that on July 4, 2022, Lyons received a video of the minor over the internet. After obtaining a search warrant, law enforcement searched the residence of Lyons, who was present at the time and admitted to agents that he had been communicating and was still communicating with her, knowing she was 15. Lyons was charged and pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.