A lawsuit filed nearly two years ago by three black community activists alleging Mayor Pro Tem Scott Wilson violated their First Amendment rights when he had them removed from a May 2017 Metro Council meeting, was supposed to go to trial in just three weeks.
Instead, the Parish Attorney’s Office has recused itself from the case, forcing Wilson, whom it was representing, to seek outside counsel and causing the trial to be indefinitely postponed.
The latest development in the dispute stems from an effort by William Most, the attorney for the plaintiffs—Gary Chambers, Eugene Collins and Michael McClanahan—to seek testimony from Wilson’s longtime colleague on the council, Chandler Loupe, that would presumably help their case and hurt Wilson’s.
It’s unclear what information Loupe, who also has hired a private attorney, might have on Wilson or how the plaintiffs first became aware of it. But Most has reportedly said the information “might speak to the way Wilson has referred to the plaintiffs.”
At the heart of the suit are allegations that Wilson was trying to prevent black activists from speaking out at council meetings about police brutality by the Baton Rouge Police Department in the wake of the Alton Sterling shooting.
The Parish Attorney’s Office, which has recused itself because of the conflict of interest posed by two council members on opposite sides of a lawsuit, did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Loupe also declined to comment and his attorney, Dan Claitor, was out of the country. Wilson did not return calls seeking comment.
But Chambers says he is disappointed the trial has been put off. “I think it’s unfortunate that the judge is letting the city sit it out,” he says.
