We have long been observing the deeply concerning trend of fabricated political content erupting in various political contests across the area of Acadiana. Finally, we can see justice working with legal action arising against these illicit activities. The main protagonist is Eddie Lau, a name familiar in the local political scene as a campaign manager for many political candidates. Lau was apprehended and charged today for spreading fraudulent politics-related materials, something tied to the wrongdoing that we’ve been diligently reporting since late 2024.
To the best of our knowledge, two political contests in Acadiana experienced the spread of misleading and false text messages last year. Specifically, the Chief of Police race in Youngsville and the race for the Assessor’s position in Iberia Parish. A text message in relation to the Youngsville Chief of Police race was circulated in October 2024. The message suggested that Cody Louviere, a candidate for the role, switched his party to Republican the prior year. This claim was presented with seemingly official voter registration documents.
These messages were distributed under the label of the ‘Louisiana Republican Citizens Group’, an organization that doesn’t officially exist in our records. A thorough evaluation of public request handling protocol at the Registrars of Voters Offices allows us to ascertain who checked those records during the race. Only a solitary petition sought the specific records of interim Chief of Police Cody Louviere.
Names on this petition included J.P. Broussard, another candidate for the Youngsville Chief of Police role, his spouse, and other known supporters of Broussard. Shortly afterward in November, another suspicious message was dispatched, which was linked to the candidacy of Ashlie Spiker for the Iberia Parish Assessor’s Office. It involved Spiker and Sadi Summerlin, both pictured in the message. The text promoted unity, inclusivity, and justice, urging people’s allegiance in the upcoming elections.
Once again, the sender of the message used a non-existing group’s name: ‘Democrat State Committee of LA’. Strikingly, just a day before Spiker’s message, a third one was sent regarding Brach Myers. Infamously coined the ‘Bingo message’, it portrayed Representative Brach Myers inviting folks for a voter appreciation event cleverly themed around Bingo. An act that may seem innocent on the outside, yet analyzed with the previous deceptive actions could be interpreted differently.
Fast forward a few months and the Senate District 23 race between Myers and Jesse Regan becomes a hotbed for a string of misleading, fake, and outright false messages. Despite the questionable messages targeted at him, Regan refused to publicly denounce such tactics, merely asserting late in his campaign that he wasn’t responsible for sending the messages. However, connections were discovered between the candidates and the suspicious messages, meriting a more comprehensive scrutiny.
In each case, a candidate except the one attacked by the text messages used the same text message distributor: Pendragon Consulting that hails from Pennsylvania. This includes David Groner – the candidate for Iberia Parish Assessor, JP Broussard – contender for Youngsville Chief of Police, and Jesse Regan – Senate District 23 hopeful. Worthy of note, two of the campaigns even recruited the same political consultancy.
Groner’s campaign finance reports reveal payments to Parish Strategies Group, a consultancy agency. Both Broussard and Regan hired Chun Ping “Eddie” Lau’s agency, highlighting Lau’s multiple affiliations, such as Fujino Capital, LLC, and Packet Red, LLC. These affiliations underscore the shady political underbelly, with Lau’s Packet Red contributing to the Regan campaign in kind.
Furthermore, the alleged misconduct was reported immediately to law enforcement bodies. Consequently, on February 6, 2025, a complaint was launched officially with the Youngsville Police Department. The police force was initially reluctant to process the report, suggesting this fell out of their jurisdiction. They eventually conceded, however, they expressed skepticism over the veracity of the report.
We maintained that the jurisdiction did indeed lie with them and insisted the report should be formally processed. Unfortunately, the police force’s lack of enthusiasm was palpable, implying the case was unlikely to be pursued with appropriate earnestness. Our public records request later revealed the assessment of the report to be ‘active’ by the District Attorney’s Office, although it was implied not much had been done.
The lackluster reception of this matter by the police led to Brach Myers deciding to file a separate grievance with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. The wheels of justice finally began to move after this, with Chun Ping “Eddie” Lau being arrested on charges relating to dissemination of false political materials on March 13, 2025. Lau is presently detained at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, awaiting legal repercussions for his misdemeanors.
Brought to light are the dubious mechanisms operating behind seemingly legitimate political campaigns, turning them into breeding grounds for misinformation and deception. A deep dive into the intertwined political landscape reveals blatant transgressions conducted by individuals and entities which, on the surface, appear completely unconnected.
The implications are far-reaching, potentially eroding the public’s trust in democratic processes, painting every political interaction with a tint of uncertainty and skepticism. It is therefore of utmost importance that such conduct is rooted out for preserving the integrity of our democratic framework.
Individuals like Eddie Lau, exploiting systemic loopholes and operational complexities, muddy the waters, making it difficult to discern genuine political campaigns from falsely led ones. The criticality of remaining vigilant and proactive in identifying and reporting such mechanical deceptions cannot be understated.
The resilience of our democratic structure is in itself a testament to its robustness but also casts a spotlight on the areas that require reinforcement. The uncovering and unraveling of the convoluted operations of a single, unassuming political campaign throws into sharp relief the challenges that lie ahead.