Judge blocks further sweeps of homeless camp in New Orleans ahead of Swift concerts
A Louisiana judge has temporarily blocked further efforts by government officials to do so clearing homeless camps in New Orleans – halting a push that came before three Taylor Swift concerts in town this weekend.
Efforts to relocate about 75 people living in tents under an overpass near the Superdome began in the days leading up to pop star shows, which could draw 150,000 attendees to the stadium.
Judge Lori Jupiter issued a temporary restraining order Friday, directing state law enforcement officials not to “destroy or dispose of the property of unhoused people without due process” and to notify people in the “state-sanctioned camp” stating that they are “free to leave.”
The order is in effect until November 4.
The judge’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by homeless people who were subjected to the sweep. In legal filings, they argued that state forces violated their constitutional rights by illegally searching, seizing and destroying their property, disposing of their prized possessions and “forcibly driving them away.”
According to the lawsuit, a legal observer heard state troopers say, “The governor wants you to move because of the Taylor Swift concert.”
State officials have said the residents were being moved to a new location about two blocks away, where unhoused people living in the touristy French Quarter area would also be moved.
A spokesman for Gov. Jeff Landry has said the effort was intended to address homelessness and safety concerns, linking the push to the concerts and February rallies. Super Bowlthat will take place in the city.
“As we prepare for the city to host Taylor Swift and Super Bowl LIX, we want to ensure New Orleans puts its best foot forward on the world stage,” Landry’s communications director, Kate Kelly, said in a statement to local media. .
Advocates argue the efforts have disrupted local officials’ work to connect homeless people with social services and help them find more permanent housing solutions.
Martha Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit that finds permanent housing for people without shelter, said the cleanup was an unnecessary and harmful undertaking and that many of the people in the camp have mental illnesses and are suspicious towards the authorities and those who try to help them.
“Some people were scared and left, and that’s not good,” she said. “Because all the work that we did to assess them and document their disabilities and, you know, work with them on their housing plan, is now for naught.”
Among those who made the move Wednesday was Terrence Cobbins. He took a break from gathering his belongings and said he was told to move because of the concerts.
“They’ve never done it for other people before,” he said. “Why Taylor Swift?”
___ Kate Payne is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.