Judge halt governor’s clearing of homeless camps near Taylor Swift concerts

A New Orleans judge has issued a restraining order barring methods used by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to clear homeless camps located near the site of this weekend’s trio of sold-out Taylor Swift concerts.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry earlier this week ordered state police and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to clear homeless encampments near the Superdome in what his office called a safety precaution ahead of the Swift concerts as well as February’s Super Bowl LIX in the city.

“As we prepare for the city to host Taylor Swift and Super Bowl LIX, we are committed to ensuring New Orleans puts its best foot forward when on the world stage,” Landry’s communications director, Kate Kelly, said in a statement issued Thursday to media outlets.

Residents of two encampments, however, filed a lawsuit saying their civil rights were violated and their personal property destroyed as officials directed them to a designated encampment located elsewhere in the city with little notice.

“Over the past few days, the state police and other state agencies have been engaging in illegal sweeps of unhoused people in New Orleans in a way that doesn’t comply with city code or the state or federal constitution,” attorney William Most told WWL-TV.

The suit, filed against the state of Louisiana in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, claimed that “as a result of the sweeps, petitioners have suffered destruction of their property without due process of law and will continue to do so until a restraining order is implemented. Defendants have been taking or destroying property including tents, HIV medication, ID cards, and food stamp cards.”

According to the restraining order issued Friday by Civil Court Judge Lori Jupiter, state officers were enjoined from removing homeless encampments in the way they had been, stipulating they must give people 24 hours’ notice before they clear an encampment and that they cannot destroy or dispose of residents’ property.

Landry, a Republican, reacted to the ruling with a statement issued to media outlets blaming the situation on the Democratic-run city of New Orleans.

The city, he said, has received “tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to address this problem, and they are failing.

“We are not going to tolerate the jewel city of the state to remain with these conditions. Either the city addresses the problem or we will.”