For a while now, we’ve been scrutinizing the flood of deceitful political communications in recent electoral contests in the Acadiana region. In fact, we took the lead in bringing light to this shade of politics. At last, we see the arms of justice extending towards those indulging in these illicit activities. The key subplot of this development lays in the tricky actions of Eddie Lau, a renowned local figure in political campaign management.
Lau’s fall from grace emerged today when he was taken into custody for sharing fraudulent political content, specifically under LARS 18:1463 C.(1). It’s anticipated this is linked to the fabricated text messages which we’ve been consistently exposing since late 2024. As far as our investigation discerns, two specific elections from the Acadiana region were targeted by the disbursement of such misleading text communications last year – the significant Chief of Police in Youngsville and the Iberia Parish Assessor’s office.
In the battle for Youngsville’s Chief of Police, a text message began to circulate around October 19, 2024. This message purportedly stated: ‘Greetings! Cody Louviere, who’s running for Youngsville Chief of Police switched his political affiliation from a no-party standing to Republican back in 2023, supported by the voter registration and alteration records found in the included image.’ The fictitious Louisiana Republican Citizens Group was named as the sponsor of this message. Remarkably, there’s no trace of any such organization registered in Louisiana.
Managing to piece together parts of this electoral puzzle, we turned to the parish Registrar of Voters Offices’ mandated handling of public records requests. Only one appeal sought the details of interim Chief of Police Cody Louviere. The appeal bore the signatures of J.P. Broussard, the rival candidate for Youngsville Chief of Police, along with his spouse and a slew of recognizable Broussard supporters.
In the subsequent weeks, on November 4, 2024, another suspicious interaction took place. This message mixed in Ashlie Spiker, a candidate for Iberia Parish Assessor’s Office, and Sadi Summerlin. The message encouraged: ‘Fellow citizens! We need unity! Our strength thrives on inclusivity, respecting diverse opinions, and working towards a just society. Support these candidates tomorrow for a sustained shared vision!’ Interestingly, the Democratic State Committee of LA was cited as the alleged sponsor of this message, but there’s no record of such a group existing in the state.
Interestingly, a peculiar message was distributed one day prior involving Brach Myers. Famously dubbed the ‘Bingo message’, it featured Representative Brach Meyers and a call to join him in a game of Voter’s Appreciation Bingo. The message overzealously promoted democratic participation, piling promises of prizes atop the enjoyment of the right to vote, with free entry to all. The event was at the Downtown Convention Center from 11 AM to 2 PM and was supposedly sponsored by the Acadiana Progressive Community Outreach. Whether this organization truly exists is a mystery that remains unsolved.
Fast forward a few months, and the race for Senate District 23 between Brach Myers and Jesse Regan stirred up a whirlwind of counterfeit political communications. Many were found to be disseminating false information, and manufactured by phony groups. Candidate Regan steered clear of publicly discrediting these disturbing messages, though towards the end of his campaign, he did express indirectly that he played no role in their circulation.
An interesting pattern came to light across the three races: all but the primary targets of the deceptive text messages were clients of the same vendor: Pendragon Consulting, based in Mercesburg, Pennsylvania. Both David Groner, candidate for Iberia Parish Assessor, and JP Broussard, candidate for Youngsville Chief of Police, along with Jesse Regan, Senate District 23, shared this connection. It is noteworthy that the tie-in with Pendragon isn’t the only suspicious connection.
Groner’s campaign disclosure indicates funds flowing to the Parish Strategies Group, and this intertwines with Lau, who partially owns the group. Notably, Broussard and Regan also contracted the very same agency, creating an intriguing web of potential lapses in integrity. The tangled web also leads to Fujino Capital, LLC, and Packet Red, LLC, reportedly linked to Lau, who contributed to the Regan campaign in a non-monetary fashion.
We took up the cudgels, promptly reaching out to law enforcement in response to the supposed unsuitable behavior. February 6, 2025, marked the filing of an official complaint with the Youngsville Police Department. The law enforcement staff exhibited a surprising hesitation in accepting the complaint, sharing a notion that this apparent issue was out of their domain.
We pushed back firmly, underscoring that they had legal authority on the matter and insisted they accept the complaint. Although they eventually agreed to file the complaint, the dismissive tone carried an insight into the perception that they didn’t understand or ignored the false aspects of the events. In search of more formal answers, we used the Public Records Request to uncover the true condition of the case.
We discovered that the case is tagged as ‘ACTIVE pending further review from the District Attorney’s Office.’ The gathered material and interacting police communications painted a rather grim picture – inadequate follow-through, and the gravity of our concerns were being brushed off.
Brach Myers didn’t let the matter rest either. He filed a separate complaint with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. The ensuing inquiry led to Lau being thrust into the center of the storm, sparking a widely scrutinized spectacle.
The outcome was significant. On March 13, 2025, Lau found himself in the unflattering glare of justice, under arrest. The charges stemmed from his alleged transgressions of distributing or transmitting false political content.
The once respected campaign manager, Eddie Lau, was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, ushering in a deep sense of irony. His actions, which once swayed elections, had now landed him behind bars under allegations of practicing harmful and unethical politics.
This serves as a stark reminder, making it clear that all processes need to be transparent and truthful, irrespective of the secrets that political campaigns may wish to hide. Are we finally ready to draw the line on unethical practices and make a decisive stand for a cleaner political landscape? Only time will tell.