NEW ORLEANS (AP) In response to a complaint filed by a well-known local climate activist, a southeast Louisiana official was charged with perjury for allegedly withholding information on a contentious grain terminal in the state’s Mississippi River Chemical Corridor.
In a deposition, Jaclyn Hotard, the president of St. John the Baptist Parish, denied knowing that her mother-in-law may have profited financially from parish rezoning plans to create space for a grain export terminal along the Mississippi River that would have covered 222 acres (90 hectares).
Even though her mother-in-law later turned over multiple text messages in which they discussed the grain terminal and a nearby property owned by the mother-in-law’s marine transport company, Hotard also stated under oath in court filings that she and her mother-in-law had no correspondence regarding the grain terminal.
Joy Banner and her sister Jo Banner successfully spearheaded efforts to stop the $800 million grain terminal earlier this year, and the text messages were revealed as part of their ongoing litigation. It would have been constructed in the mostly Black neighborhood where they grew up, within 300 feet (91 meters) of their property and among historic landmarks.
The legal battle is a part of a larger conflict that is taking place in courts and public hearings, with officials anxious to approve economic development facing off against grassroots community organizations.opposing the spread of toxic industries along the 85-mile industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, which environmental activists frequently describe to as “Cancer Alley.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Banner stated, “As residents, we are just trying to protect our homes and just trying to live our lives as we have a right to.”
After cofounding the Descendants Project, an organization devoted to racial justice and historic preservation, the Banner sisters became well-known across the country.
The parish president, Hotard, claims in the text conversations that were turned over as part of Joy Banner’s complaint that she used foul language to characterize Joy Banner and that she wanted to choke her. Regarding the Banner sisters, Hotard added, “I detest these individuals.”
Requests for comment following Tuesday’s filing were not answered by Hotard or her lawyer, Ike Spears. The attorney for Hotard’s mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, Richard John Tomeny, chose not to comment.
After Hotard and another parish councilman, Michael Wright, threatened to jail her and prevented her from speaking during a public comment session at a council meeting in November 2023, Banner filed a federal lawsuit against the parish in December 2023.
In summary, according to Banner’s lawsuit, a white man threatened to prosecute and imprison a Black woman for speaking at a public meeting’s public comment period. It alleges that Banner’s First Amendment rights were violated by the parish.
Requests for response from Wright and his attorney were not answered. In court documents, Hotard and Wright have refuted Banner’s account of what happened.
Banner made an effort to draw attention to Hotard’s purported conflict of interest when he approved a zoning modification to allow the development of the grain export facility at the November 2023 meeting. Additionally, Banner recently complained to the Louisiana Board of Ethics about Hotard, claiming that her mother-in-law would profit financially from the rezone because she owned and operated a marine transport business with land close to and inside the region.
According to a recent petition filed by Banner’s counsel, Hotard filed a court filing in response to a discovery request, stating that there are no such records between her and her mother-in-law mentioning the land, the grain terminal, or Joy Banner. Despite text messages indicating that she and her mother-in-law had spoken about the property less than three weeks before to Hotard’s deposition, Hotard also stated in her August deposition that she was unaware of her mother-in-law’s company’s land.
The trial for Banner’s claim is set for early next year.
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Brook is a member of the Statehouse News Initiative’s Report for America/Associated Press corps.A nonprofit national service initiative called Report for America places reporters in local newsrooms to explore topics that aren’t often covered. Follow Brook at @jack_brook96 on social media site X.
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