An official of the Louisiana GOP that attended the $10 thousand/person GOP fundraiser held at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter has told Lincoln Parish News Online that New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers weren’t called to the restaurant until about 9:30 PM. Louisiana Federation of Republican Women’s (LFRW) representative to the GOP State Central Committee Valarie Hodges said that the mob of protesters had become unruly and were crowded up against the front door of the restaurant as she and her husband and another couple were leaving the event.
“Before that time, there was no security or police” at the restaurant despite the presence of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and at least one congressman. “The mob had been building for a couple of hours,” she added.
Eric Miller, a local photographer hired to take pictures at the fundraiser said that as he was leaving the premises, the protesters had crowded up to the front door and were hassling patrons trying to enter and leave. “There was a family with kids – maybe six or eight years old – trying to get in. The protesters were bombarding them with all sorts of four-letter words,” he said. “That was completely unnecessary. These folks were just tourists out on the town,” he added.
Some of Miller’s photos of the commotion can be seen here. Scenes of the mob and its activity have been well documented on The Hayride.
Later that night, Allee Bautsch and her date Joe Brown were brutally assaulted a block from the restaurant, on the sidewalk outside the Louisiana Supreme Court Building. The fundraiser and assault took place on Friday, April 9.
Another person who attended the event, who knew and has worked with Bautsch for GOP fund-raising, was disappointed that Gov. Jindal hasn’t been more forceful in standing up for his employee and demanding publicly that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
Hodges also noted her disappointment with Jindal.
Today we contacted the Governor’s Press Office, but they had nothing to say about the incident after we told them of what had been said of them in our interviews.
We also contacted the NOPD and spoke to Gary Flot, but the only new information he gave us was that Sgt. Nick Gernin of the Eighth Police District was the only one assigned to the case. We asked to speak to Sgt. Gernin, but he had not come in to the office when we called.
UPDATE – 4:07 PM – BAUTSCH MAKES PRELIMINARY ID OF PERP!!
See The Hayride for details!!
Lincoln Parish News Online 
04/19/2010 at 3:20 pm |
[…] Hayride contributor Walter Abbott writes on Lincoln Parish News Online that the police didn’t arrive on the scene of the Brennan’s protest until 9:30 on the […]
04/19/2010 at 7:17 pm |
When I originally watched the videos a few days ago, I thought the gentleman pictured on the Hayride page today matched the description, but there are 2 things that don’t add up — he’s not wearing a “light colored t-shirt” but that’s a matter of opinion, I guess. The second thing, and what makes him an unlikely suspect, is that the videos clearly show him with a young woman and a very young child. In fact, in the photo on Hayride, the gentleman is reaching down for the child’s hand. In all videos, this guy didn’t seem to be with the crowd — he wasn’t talking to anyone but the girl and the little kid. I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but given the care he was showing the child in the videos, I’d find it hard to believe that he’d put that kid in any kind of danger by staying too late. Just a feeling.
04/19/2010 at 7:24 pm |
The victim said it looked like her attacker. Looks to me like the cops need to be questioning him.
04/19/2010 at 7:59 pm |
I agree that he should be questioned — he might have seen something if nothing else. What I’m concerned about is the fact that the reporting here has been extremely credible and detailed. This piece seems less so to me, that’s all, and I worry that if it’s not the right guy, it’ll be used to cast doubt on what you guys have done so far.
By the way, I misspoke when I said he didn’t seem to be with the crowd — he definitely was. I meant that he was keeping to himself and his apparent family as they marched.
04/19/2010 at 7:18 pm |
Sorry, didn’t mean to call myself “the perp” — thought it was a post title box. Sorry about that.
04/19/2010 at 7:48 pm |
“‘Before that time, there was no security or police’ at the restaurant despite the presence of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Texas Governor Rick Perry, and at least one congressman.”
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This video seems to contradict Valarie Hodges’s claim…
Police officers appear to be inside the restaurant, outside the entrance to the restaurant, and in the street…due to the amount of daylight still present, this video had to of been shot well before 9:30 pm.