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New Orleans public housing defenders charged under terror law
The “critical structure” law was enacted by the Louisiana legislature in the wake of September 11. On Good Friday, March 21, three New Orleans residents who entered a vacant housing development during a rally were charged under this law. An act of civil disobedience was treated as an act of terrorism.
Supporters of the right to return and affordable housing staged a Good Friday protest action at the Lafitte Housing Development in defense of New Orleans’ besieged public housing. The protest action on the corner of North Galvez Street and Orleans Avenue attracted participants from such groups as May Day Nola, C3/Hands Off Iberville, and Common Ground, as well as public housing residents and students from Delgado Community College.
A statement read on behalf of May Day Nola demanded an immediate end to the demolition of local public housing, the reopening and reoccupation of all non-occupied public housing units in the city and the immediate passage of Senate Bill 1668.
Mid-way through the protest three housing justice activists—Jamie Laughner, Thomas McManus, and Ezekiel Compton—slipped below a barb wired fence, scaled the metal grating of a two-story public housing apartment building, and situated themselves on the balcony of an unoccupied apartment.
From the balcony, the three urged those at the rally below to pressure the U.S. Senate to pass S.B. 1668.
About an hour later the New Orleans police arrived. They forced protesters to move from the sidewalk closest to the apartment building to an area about fifty feet away. After about a half hour police arrested Laughner, McManus and Compton. The three were charged with trespassing, resisting an officer, and unlawful entry into a critical structure.
The “critical structure” law was enacted by the Louisiana legislature in the wake of September 11. The charge of unlawful entry into a critical infrastructure equates civil disobedience with terrorism. Violation is a felony.
The day after the Good Friday action, the Lafitte Three were arraigned in front of Orleans Magistrate Marie Bookman in Orleans Parish Prison. The judge slapped the three with a maximum bond of $15,000 each although McManus and Compton had no criminal records.
When an attorney drew parallels between the protest activity of the Lafitte Three and the protest activity of Jesse Jackson, Bookman dismissed the comparison out of hand. After the hearing Laughner, McManus and Compton were returned to their prison cells where they spent the remainder of Easter Weekend and the following two days.
On Tuesday Criminal District Court Judge Frank Marullo overruled Bookman’s bond decision and ordered the Lafitte Three released on their own recognizance.
Compton, Laughner and McManus still face the prospect of being tried for a felony charge.
Mike Howells is with the New Orleans public housing rights group C3/Hands Off Iberville