Louisiana
Plaintiffs ask Louisiana judge to bar implementation of Ten Commandments law immediately – Baptist News Global
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against mandatory Ten Commandments displays in Louisiana public classrooms have asked a federal court to bar implementation of the new law as their litigation proceeds.
Signed into law June 19, House Bill 71 requires the posting of framed or poster copies of the Decalogue in every state-funded grade school and college classroom no later than Jan. 1, 2025.
The plaintiffs’ July 8 motion for preliminary injunction in Roake v. Brumley asks the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana also to prevent the displays from going up prior to next year’s deadline.
Darcy Roake
“We are eager to ensure that our family’s religious-freedom rights are protected from day one of the upcoming school year,” said co-plaintiff Darcy Roake, a Unitarian Universalist minister and parent of two children.
“The Ten Commandments displays required under state law will create an unwelcoming and oppressive school environment for children, like ours, who don’t believe in the state’s official version of Scripture,” she said. “We believe that no child should feel excluded in public school because of their family’s faith tradition, and we are optimistic that the court will grant our motion for a preliminary injunction.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs have requested a hearing on the motion during the week of July 29 and hope for a ruling before school starts Aug. 8, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
AU, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the Simpson Thacher and Bartlett law firm are representing the nine Christian, Jewish and non-religious families in the action. The complaint filed June 24 alleges Louisiana’s law, which also mandates use of a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments, violates plaintiffs’ rights under the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment and Free Exercise clauses.
“This lawsuit is necessary to protect the religious freedom of Louisiana public school children and their families,” AU President Rachel Laser said when the suit was filed June 24.
“Not just in Louisiana, but all across the country, Christian nationalists are seeking to infiltrate our public schools and force everyone to live by their beliefs. Secular, inclusive public schools that welcome all students regardless of their belief system form the backbone of our diverse and religiously pluralistic communities,” she said. “This nation must recommit to our foundational principle of church-state separation before it’s too late. Public education, religious freedom and democracy are all on the line.”
“This lawsuit is necessary to protect the religious freedom of Louisiana public school children and their families.”
Louisiana’s translation and its specific redacting of the commandments is especially troublesome, Freedom from Religion attorney and legal fellow Sammi Lawrence said during a recent edition of the organization’s “Ask an Atheist” webinar.
“This is problematic for a wide variety of reasons, including that the government is choosing a specific interpretation and translation of the Ten Commandments. I’m sure our audience knows, and probably Christians and religious people in the U.S. know that the Ten Commands vary from sect to sect, religion to religion. There are many different interpretations and translations of them.”
This is why Louisiana’s mandated version of the scriptural passage is not numbered and actually presents 12 commandment lines, FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott added. “Even Christians are surprised that these are excerpts from the Bible and from, in this instance, one specific translation of the Bible which seems to exclude not just Jews and other individuals that wouldn’t use that translation, but even some Christians.”
Separately, the Christian social action group Faithful America issued a petition and statement July 9 condemning Oklahoma’s new requirement that the Bible be physically present and taught in all public school classrooms. The call to action included a warning about Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law.
“Forcing Christianity on others is theocracy — and coercion is the opposite of Christ-like love. Let’s speak out publicly together to make it clear … that Christians support religious freedom for all,” the organization said.
Related articles:
Jesus and the Ten Commandments | Opinion by Chuck Poole
That Ten Commandments law isn’t the worst thing about Louisiana’s ‘Dream Big’ act for public education | Analysis by Mara Richards Bim
The Ten Commandments meet the Golden Rule | Opinion by Greg Hunt
Fighting Ten Commandments law is part of ‘the civil rights movement of our generation,’ ACLU leader says
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TALLULAH, La. (WLBT) – One of the two Goon Squad victims who later won a civil suit against Rankin County and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department was arrested by the Louisiana State Police Wednesday night.
According to officials, Eddie Terrell Parker is currently being held in the Madison Parish Jail without bond on at least two pages of charges.
These charges include multiple narcotics violations, possession with intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon.
No other information has been released at this time.
This is a developing story. More updates will come as further information is released.
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Demand for more Midwest data centers skyrockets
What are data centers and why are they needed?
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.
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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