We’ve been monitoring the unfolding incident involving the distribution of false political propaganda in recent elections in Acadiana. Unlawful activities such as these are finally starting to face legal consequences. A noteworthy figure in this scene, Eddie Lau, noted for managing various political campaigns, was apprehended for disseminating misleading political matter, an event that we have been reporting since November 2024.
Two major political campaigns in Acadiana appear to be the target of these instances of deceitful text distributions. These campaigns include the City of Youngsville’s Chief of Police race and the race for the Iberia Parish Assessor’s Office. The means of misinformation was often text messages, cunningly designed to influence voters.
One infamous instance happened on October 19, 2024, during the race for Youngsville’s Chief of Police. An SMS was widely distributed, stating: ‘Hello! Cody Louviere, candidate for Youngsville Chief of Police switched his voter registration to Republican in 2023.’ The text included an image displaying the registration change records for interim Chief of Police Cody Louviere. The communication further claimed it was funded by ‘Louisiana Republican Citizens Group’, which doesn’t exist in the Louisiana official register.
After systematic investigation of public records, it came to light who could have possibly accessed such records. A single request revealed the viewer of the said documentation: J.P. Broussard – a candidate for the same position, his spouse, and a group of Broussard’s conspicuous supporters. Their concerted action displayed a concerning predilection towards misleading political tactics.
In a short span of time, November 4, 2024, another dubious message surfaced. This one targeted Ashlie Spiker, a participant in the race for Iberia Parish Assessor’s Office. The convoluted phrasing of the message paired with images of Spiker and Sadi Summerlin ended with a failed attempt to seek endorsement by an inexistent ‘Democrat State Committee of LA’. This pattern is quite telling of the kind of deceptive tactics employed in these campaigns.
Shortly before the Spiker message, a peculiar communication voiced concern about Brach Myers with an infamous phrase known as the ‘Bingo message’. It read: ‘Hello, friends. Love Bingo? Love Democracy? Join Rep. Brach Myers and friends in a Voter Appreciation BINGO, win prizes while celebrating your right to vote!’ This message bore the signature of the nonexistent ‘Acadiana Progressive Community Outreach’.
The Senate District 23 campaign between Brach Myers and Jesse Regan was another race that saw an influx of false and misleading messages, a concerning strategy that sought to muddy the waters of political transparency. Though Regan refrained from putting forward a clear stand on these messages, he finally made a late statement during his campaign denying his involvement.
All the three campaigns shared unexpected similarities. Candidates distinct from the individuals targeted by the misleading texts all used one common SMS vendor: Pendragon Consulting from Pennsylvania. David Groner, JP Broussard, and Jesse Regan all recorded payments to this vendor.
Furthermore, two of those three campaigns made payments to the same political consultancy firm. This included Groner’s compensation to Parish Strategies Group, while both Broussard and Regan took on Chun Ping “Eddie” Lau’s agency. Eddie Lau, who was also connected to Fujino Capital, LLC, and Packet Red, LLC, was linked to the controversial in-kind contribution to the Regan campaign.
We then reported our findings to law enforcement. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the Youngsville Police Department on February 6, 2025. Although civil servants were reluctant to file the report, even suggesting it wasn’t a matter for them to handle, we insisted they should indeed take the issue under their jurisdiction.
After some pushback, the department agreed to accept the complaint, though under the pretext of ‘not seeing what was inaccurate’ about it. However, following a public records request, we discovered the case is still ‘ACTIVE pending further review from the District Attorney’s Office.’ There seems to have been little action taken on it, raising questions about its seriousness.
In light of the inadequacy of action taken on this case, it seemed that it wasn’t receiving the attention that its gravity demanded. With minimal follow-up work conducted, it seems the falsified messages issue was not a priority.
Brach Myers, however, was not to be dissuaded. He separately filed a complaint with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. His persistence ultimately led to some action, and as a result of the investigation by the sheriff’s office, Chun Ping ‘Eddie’ Lau was finally arrested.
Eddie Lau’s arrest is a critical turn of events. On March 13, 2025, Lau was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center for disseminating false political material, putting a stopper, at least for now, in the flow of misleading campaign texts.
Deception and misinformation in political campaigns undermine the very foundations of our democracy. These instances highlight our duty as vigilant citizens to hold our politicians and their campaigns accountable for their actions and uphold the integrity of our democratic process.
As the investigation unfolds, it raises questions about how deep these practices run in our political system. It’s crucial for law enforcement and lawmakers to act diligently and take such transgressions seriously to protect our democracy.