From The Hayride:
Anarchists at the Rally for Higher Education
It appears as though the call for this march on the capital has begun to take shape in the form of Wednesday’s Rally for Higher Education. Initating as a rally organized by a UNO student group, the event has escalated to include more than 6 state colleges and hundreds of student protesters.
Over the weekend, we got this invitation in the mail. Political fund-raising invitations in the mail are not unusual, as we’ve been politically active for years.
The invitation is unremarkable except for one thing that caught our eye – the name Allee Bautsch. She’s listed as the contact person for the event.
Recall she was the Jindal staffer who was the victim of a political terrorist attack last April, literally on the steps of the Louisiana State Supreme Court Building in New Orleans. Bautsch worked for Jindal as his campaign finance director.
Presumably, she’s back at work.
See here archived stories from The Hayride.
See here archived stories from Lincoln Parish News Online.
The case is allegedly still under investigation by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) – the same NOPD that is under investigation by the Feds for their lawless activities during the Katrina crisis.
The last word from the investigation was this post at The Hayride.
Second Quote Of The Day
Posted on August 20th, 2010 by macaoidh“I regret to inform you that we were unable to develop any viable suspects.” – Nicholas Gernon, the NOPD detective in charge of investigating the Allee Bautsch beating in April.
New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Sgt. Nick Gernin has yet to follow up with one of the most important leads so far in the brutal assault of Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown – preliminary identification of one of the perps. Gernin, of the NOPD’s Eighth District was assigned to investigate the crime.
Yesterday, Scott McKay, editor and publisher of The Hayride, emailed to Bautsch some photos of the mob of protesters who before the assault had been protesting a GOP fundraiser at a French Quarter restaurant.
Bautsch made a preliminary ID of her assailant. McKay immediately tried to contact the detective to inform him of this important piece of evidence.
As of 8:00 AM today, Gernin had made no effort to return McKay’s phone call.
McKay posted on his news blog thus:
The picture at left, of which we now have several shots, is of an individual who, if he isn’t the prime suspect in the beating of Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown, sure ought to be. Bautsch told me via e-mail this morning that the suspect she and Joe Brown described to the police “looked exactly like that, and so did the rest of them (with different color hair).” She took pains to say that she can’t make a positive identification of this man as one of her attackers, but he fits the description they gave to the New Orleans police. This is someone who needs to be questioned about the attack; there are two YouTube videos still available on which he appears.
We are astonished at this lack of police interest in this case. We there fore ask again this question:
Is NOPD Fit to Investigate French Qtr Assault?
Lincoln Parish News Online will continue to report on this story.
From a high-resolution version of Jack A. Neal’s photo of the scene of the April 9 beating of Joe Brown and Allee Bautsch comes this close-up of Allee.
Allee Bautsch, after brutal assault by political terrorists
See details at The Hayride. The good news is she has made a preliminary ID of her assailant.
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!!
Save one press statement almost a week ago, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has remained mute about one of his employees and her date who were viciously attacked by protesters over a week ago in New Orleans’ French Quarter. They were attacked and beaten on the sidewalk literally outside the Louisiana Supreme Court Building, after attending a GOP fundraiser at Brennan’s Restaurant earlier in the evening of Friday, April 9.
According to sources, Jindal is reluctant to comment because he’s afraid that New Orleans’ reputation as a lawless cesspool would be further damaged. We had last week called upon Gov. Jindal to enlist the help of the U. S. Justice Department and the Louisiana State Police in investigating the crime, due to the ongoing problems within the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD).
The question is, then, are Bautsch and Brown expendable in order to further the Greater Good of New Orleans tourism dollars? Do we conservatives have to offer up some sort of half-assed sacrifice from time to time in order to appease the gods of political correctness?
So far, the only official that has had the stones to describe what happened that night is Louisiana GOP Chair Roger Villere, Jr. He granted an interview to Lincoln Parish News Online two days ago and told us his recollection of events.
And forget about the Dinosaur Media actually getting up off their lazy behinds and doing real reporting – like actually interviewing people who were there.
We had contrasted this event with what the media’s likely response had it been staffers of Senator Mary Landrieu who were beaten. And also contrast this with how they reported the fictitious claims of racial slurs and spitting during Tea Party events.
So now are conservative activists legitimate targets to be attacked at will? We need to know the rules going in, we suggest.
In an interview this afternoon, Louisiana GOP Chair Roger Villere, Jr. told Lincoln Parish News Online he and several others were pursued by protesters last Friday night after a political fundraiser, but managed to get into a cab and avoid the mob. “We started to leave out the front door after the event, but the protesters had us blocked – there were six of us in our group – so we went out through the kitchen,” Villere said. Once they got outside, the protesters spotted them and began to pursue them, but they managed to get into a cab and avoid confrontation.
Later in the evening Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown were brutally beaten on the sidewalk outside the Louisiana State Supreme Court building, mere steps away from where protests had taken place.
Villere hosted the fund-raising event last Friday night in a French Quarter restaurant that was attended by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Villere opined that what started out as a peaceful protest was infiltrated by “professional agitators” who were in New Orleans to protest the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) that was held last weekend.
In other developments, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) released the preliminary report of the crime. Also today, Fox News interviewed Della Burning, mother of victim Allee Bautsch. More updates are also available on The Hayride.
From The Hayride, here’s the latest on the assault on Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown.
The French Quarter Fracas: Another Possible Piece (Updated, 11:05 p.m)
This is more confirmation that the assault was of a political nature as detailed yesterday by a reporter who spoke with the New Orleans Police Department.
It now appears that the statement released earlier this week by Kyle Plotkin, a spokesman for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is now inoperative. To wit:
“While there were protestors around at that time, we are not aware of any evidence that the individuals involved in the altercation were protestors.”
Meanwhile, we have had no response to our inquiry yesterday with Governor’s Office regarding the fitness of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to conduct a competent investigation.
Today we ask is the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) fit to properly investigate the assault case of Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown? Consider these news accounts from just the past month:
Corruption cases put New Orleans cops up against wall
Federal civil rights chief talks about drastic options for ‘troubled’ NOPD
NOPD scrutiny unmatched in nation, Justice Department official says
Third New Orleans police officer expected to plead guilty in Danziger Bridge cover-up
New Orleans Police Superintendent Riley finally discusses Danziger implications: An editorial
New Orleans police behavior turns believers into skeptics: Jarvis DeBerry
Third NOPD officer being investigated in case of corpse burned after Hurricane Katrina
NOPD officer charged in state court with payroll fraud
We could go on and on with these news accounts, but you get the idea. The NOPD is not competent and often its officers ARE the criminals. Accordingly, early this morning we dispatched the following email to Governor Jindal’s spokesman, Kyle Plotkin:
Mr. Plotkin,
Does Governor Jindal intend to ask the Louisiana State Police and/or the United States Attorney in New Orleans to assist in what increasingly appears to be a politically motivated attack on Allee Bautsch and Joe Brown last Friday night in New Orleans?
Considering the abysmal reputation of the New Orleans Police Department and the ongoing federal investigation into its behavior and style of operation, it is logical to question their ability to be an effective police force, and effective investigators.
We intend to follow this very important story wherever it leads, despite the studied disinterest by the so-called mainstream media.
Walter Abbott
As of posting time, we had heard nothing from the Governor’s Press Office. We will update if and when we get an answer.
Meanwhile, the latest developments on the crime are in today’s The Hayride.
UPDATE: 1:45 PM
What if the dastardly attack last Friday night against Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s chief fundraiser Allee Bautsch and her boyfriend Joe Brown had been upon U. S. Senator Mary Landrieu’s staffers?
Assume there had been a fund-raising dinner with several high-profile Democrat guests in attendance. Assume it had been held in some tony French Quarter restaurant. Assume there had been several dozen Tea Party protesters outside waving signs and chanting. Assume that after the event and within a block or two of the protests, Mary’s chief fundraiser and companion had the stuffing beat out of them and they were hospitalized with broken bones and concussions.
What would the so-called Mainstream Media in Louisiana and elsewhere be doing?
We wonder how many TV crews WWL-TV would have reporting and re-reporting from the scene of the crime? How many reporters would Dave Cohen, News Director for WWL-AM870 have camped out on the doorstep of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD)? How many reporters would Jim Amoss, Editor of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune have assigned to dig up connections between the perps and the protesters? What kind of opinions would we see from the editorial page loons at The (Baton Rouge) Advocate?
Would CNN and MSNBC be going wall-to-wall with cable coverage like they did with the made-up story about racial slurs at the U. S. Capitol last month? Would CBS’ Katie Couric and NBC’s Brian Williams be anchoring their broadcasts from the French Quarter by now? And would the story have made the front pages – above the fold – in The New York Times and the Washington Post?
Right here, right now the only reporter doing actual investigative journalism is Scott McKay of The Hayride.
And what of the politicians? Would Governor Jindal still be putting out milquetoast press statements, or would a squadron of Louisiana State Police investigators be en route to New Orleans? Would U. S. Attorney Jim Letten have the entire resources of the Justice Department involved or would he still be pursuing the silly case of a fake phone repairman?
The world wonders…
UPDATE: 10:45 AM
The latest from Scott McKay at The Hayride. The Brennan’s Beatdown: Piecing Together A Story (Updated, 9:35 a.m)
UPDATE: 12:25 PM
Lincoln Parish News Online 