Protester who held cookout in front of mayor’s home arrested
Click here for updates on this story
LAFAYETTE, LA (KTBS) — A Louisiana woman was arrested Saturday after setting up a barbecue grill outside the Lafayette’s mayor home.
She was protesting a police shooting that left a black man dead earlier this month.
Tara Laxey, 46, who is part of a local activist group called Unity7, fired up a grill in the street of front of Mayor Josh Guillory’s home. The small protest was recorded on Facebook live.
Laxey says the barbecue was an attempt to invite the mayor for a discussion about the Aug. 21 police shooting of Trayford Pellerin, a 31 year old black man in Lafayette.
Louisiana State Police have said Pellerin was carrying a knife and was shot when he tried to enter a convenience store after causing a disturbance at another. Pellerin’s death has heightened tensions between protesters and local leaders in the consolidated city and parish in Louisiana’s cajun country.
Laxey bonded out late Saturday night after her friends raised enough money to post bond. As a condition of her release, she cannot go near Guillory’s home. Still, Laxey says she will continue to go to council meetings to make her voice heard. In the meantime, she has this message for Guillory and members of the city and parish councils.
“Shame on you,” Laxey said. “That’s it. Shame on you. You’re our leaders. You represent us. Where have you been with us in this process with losing Trayford–the mourning process? We’re angry. We’re hurt. We’re confused. We’re not getting the answers–and I understand there is an investigation–but where are y’all? Where are y’all?”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
