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

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.