A Louisiana mayor is under fire for getting into an argument with a local resident during a council meeting.
Video shows Elton Mayor Kesia Lemoine locking heads with an unidentified woman who she later argued with in a meeting room.
The footage shows Lemoine walking out of the room yelling at the woman before being stopped by other citizens.
Footage shows the woman yelling at Lemoine and saying, “Keep your fucking hands off me.”
In the video, she can also be heard saying that she wants to press charges against Lemoine, while a group of people try to keep the couple apart.
Eventually, a police officer escorts the woman out of City Hall as she continues to yell at Lemoine.
Elton Mayor Kesia Lemoine gets into a fight with an unidentified woman after she is caught on video arguing with her in the meeting room
Footage shows the other woman yelling at Lemoine, saying, “Get your fucking hands off me!”
Later, Lemoine allegedly hit a cell phone used to record the incident out of the hands of spectator Heidi Newell. According to the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff's Office, Lemoine has been charged with battery.
Newell described the incident as “total chaos.”
“I was filming like we normally do because of situations and she basically turned around and hit me in the chest and knocked my phone out of my hand,” Newell said.
Newell, a former city employee, said Lemoine fired her unexpectedly, but she still attends council meetings. She also said the mayor usually treats questions or concerns with hostility.
“It's time for someone who does the right thing for the city and is honest about every situation and doesn't go behind people's backs to come into power now,” Newell said.
She can also be heard saying she wants to press charges against Lemoine in the video, as a group of people try to keep the couple apart.
Eventually, a police officer escorts the woman out of City Hall as she continues to yell at Lemoine
Lemoine knocked Heidi Newell's cell phone out of her hand while she was recording video of the argument. She has been charged with battery, according to the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff's Office
According to KPLCthe meeting began with the aim of discussing this month's budget.
The atmosphere became tense when the meeting turned to the topic of subsidies.
During the discussion, Lemoine was asked whether Carl Capone, identified as the grant writer, should be asked about available funding.
A woman, believed to be the one arguing with Lemoine in the video, then asked if Capone had been fired as a grant writer.
Mayor Lemoine was heard replying, “We are talking about the budget, you are way off on something else. We are on budget. You out of order. If you say anything else, we'll escort you out. We're talking about the budget.'
The council asked if anyone knew if Capone had been fired. Ultimately, Lemoine tells the room that Capone left the department because two people “lied to him.”
The mayor then asks the woman who inquired about Capone's dismissal about her motives for attending the meeting.
Somehow, the council's focus shifts to Lemoine's salary, where she calls out council members for being “concerned” about how she is paid. After the arguments escalate, Lemoine is heard saying, “You want to talk about transparency? Let's talk here first!'
The atmosphere became tense when the meeting turned to the topic of subsidies. Lemoine began discussing the two grants when a council member asked whether Carl Capone, identified as the grant writer, should be asked about the available grants.
Lemoine told it News 10 in the aftermath, the video did not show any of those in the room threatening her and her family.
“We recently had a council meeting and they edited the clip and only showed my actions,” Lemoine said. “They didn't show the beginning.”
She said she acted out of maternal instinct and a need to protect her family.
“As a mother, I'm a protector and that really put me out of character,” Lemoine explained.
She also told the station that she wanted to acknowledge that she is not proud of what happened and that it should not have gone this far.
“I apologize for my actions because I am the mayor and they hold me to a different standard. But I'm also human and I have feelings,” Lemoine said.
The incident comes as the mayor's son, Marcus Lemoine Jr., was arrested for assaulting a man, Roderick Williams, at an Elton car wash in June 2023.
But it appears hostility runs in the family, as her son, Marcus Lemoine Jr., approached and assaulted a man named Roderick Williams at an Elton car wash in June 2023.
During the trial, he entered a plea of “no contest” in a Jeff Davis Parish court a few weeks ago, which was a change from his “not guilty” plea he entered in September.
Jeff Davis District Court Clerk confirmed that Marcus was sentenced to six months of supervised probation, along with a $500 fine plus court costs
Lemoine Jr. was arrested by the Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff's Office after Williams filed a report.
During the trial, he entered a plea of “no contest” in a Jeff Davis Parish court a few weeks ago, which was a change from his “not guilty” plea he entered in September.
Clerk of Court Jeff Davis confirmed that Lemoine Jr. was sentenced to six months of supervised probation along with a $500 fine plus court costs.
The mayor did not clarify whether Williams was the same man who threatened her during the council meeting.
Earlier this year, a petition was launched to strip the mayor of her title.
A survey found that voters in other parishes claimed homestead exemptions, some registered to vote on vacant lots and others used addresses of homes that did not exist to participate in the election.
Brandon Kelley, who faced Lemoine in last year's runoff election for mayor, told the newspaper American press that a group of residents wants to remove her from office after cases of possible corruption in the last mayoral elections came to light.
An investigation by KPLC TV found voters claiming homestead exemptions in other parishes, some registering to vote on vacant lots and others using addresses of houses that did not exist to participate in the election.
The investigation found nearly three dozen people with questionable voting records and named Roderick Williams as the first whistleblower in the case. The request was later denied.
Williams believes Lemoine Jr. has attacked him for his role in exposing corruption in the area and the subsequent petition to remove his mother from office.
After the video of the mayor's altercation with the unidentified woman went viral, a new petition has been launched to recall her from office.