City sued over Mardi Gras parade

The Newcomers Club, facing an attempt by the city to cancel the 55th annual Mardi Gras parade, has filed suit in federal court.
The club’s attorney, Shone Pierre, in a press release issued on Friday, Jan. 22, wrote that the lawsuit will allege a violation of the First Amendment clause protecting the right of peaceful assembly.
Named as defendants in the suit are the city, City Council and Mayor Thomas Nelson as well as Police Chief Calder Hebert and St. Martin Sheriff Ronny Theriot. Judge Rebecca Doherty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana will hear the case.
Pierre wrote, “We will not allow the city and the sheriff to shut down this historic parade. We have a constitutional right to assemble and to celebrate our heritage and our community. These government officials will not trample that right by placing onerous and unnecessary requirements or by failing to perform their duties.”
This action by the Newcomers, organizers of the parade, follows a heated meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at which hundreds of motivated supporters of the parade crowded City Hall to express their anger over efforts to end the St. Martinville tradition.
As 200 or more people demonstrated peacefully, some carrying signs reading “No Parade No Business!” outside the building, Pierre offered the council a number of substantive compromises.
Pierre offered options for route changes, including one that would start the parade at CashWay Grocery, formerly Winn-Dixie, on South Main end of town and rolling south from there to St. Martinville Jr. High School. Many of the parade supporters that crowded into the room expressed great displeasure at that idea.
The attorney addressed a much-criticized security analysis produced by UL-Lafayette Police Chief Joey Sturm at the request of Chief Hebert. She suggested that if the report was to be used as a vehicle to cancel the parade, she should be given the opportunity to meet with Sturm to address his concerns. If she were able to persuade him to modify his report, she said, it could possibly remove the biggest obstacle to the event. The Sheriff’s Office has insisted that all conditions set forth in the report must be satisfied or it would not provide security. Mayor Nelson said that without sheriff’s deputies the city could guarantee only 19 officers for the event.