In A Flash

LA attorney general vows to help musician Lauren Daigle in dispute with New Orleans mayor

By: Wesley Muller - December 14, 2020 4:32 pm

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Attorney General Jeff Landry and elected officials from other state sued over President Joe Biden’s decision to pause oil and gas leases.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has taken sides in the dispute between Christian musician Lauren Daigle and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, vowing in an open letter Monday to protect Daigle’s legal rights.

The dispute stems from an illegally-held music concert in November, in which Daigle participated. The Nov. 7 concert, titled “Let Us Worship” and organized by activist pastor Sean Feucht, drew criticism after more than 400 people gathered in Washington Artillery Park without face masks, without regard for COVID-19 restrictions and without a permit from the city.

The concert was held even after the city had denied the organizers a permit. Cantrell told NOLA.com that the city was caught off guard because the crowd was too large by the time police responded to the event, so, the mayor said, the officers followed protocols for handling protests and demonstrations.

Mayor Cantrell later wrote to Dick Clark Productions asking that Daigle, who is from Lake Charles, be removed from the lineup of New Orleans’ New Year’s Rockin Eve Celebration.

Daigle reportedly told Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser that it was all a misunderstanding. Nungesser told WWL that Daigle was riding her bicycle in the French Quarter when she coincidentally stumbled on the concert, then stopped to pray with participants and was invited to perform on stage.

“The Attorney General vowed to protect Daigle’s rights to protest and worship and offered his assistance to ‘work with more hospitable regions in our State, like your home Parish of Lafayette, if you and Dick Clark Productions wish to move the event,’” according to a press release from Landry’s office.

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Wesley Muller

Wes Muller traces his journalism roots back to 1997 when, at age 13, he built and launched a hyper-local news website for his New Orleans neighborhood. In the years since then, he has freelanced for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and worked on staff at the Sun Herald in Biloxi, WAFB-9News CBS in Baton Rouge, and the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He also taught English as an adjunct instructor at Baton Rouge Community College. Much of his journalism has involved reporting on First Amendment issues and coverage of municipal and state government. He has received recognitions including McClatchy's National President's Award, the Associated Press Freedom of Information Award, and the Daniel M. Phillips Freedom of Information Award from the Mississippi Press Association, among others. Muller is a New Orleans native, a Jesuit High School alumnus, a University of New Orleans alumnus and a veteran U.S. Army paratrooper. He lives in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, with his two sons and his wife, who is also a journalist.