Sound Off Louisiana

Fifth Congressional District Republican candidate Austin Magee who, at the Ronald Reagan newsmaker luncheon on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, slammed U. S. Senate Republican candidate Julia Letlow as, “part of the swamp in supporting the Socialist scam of carbon capture.”

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the monthly Ronald Regan Newsmaker Luncheon was held with Republican candidates for the Fifth Congressional District invited to attend.  Only three (3) candidates opted to do so, and perhaps the most interesting one of the three was Austin Magee, whose campaign slogan is, “I can’t do any worse than the rest of ‘em!”  The other two candidates who opted to attend were State Sen. Rick Edmonds and State Rep. Michael Echols, who has deep and strong ties with and to Gov. Landry.

Incumbent Fifth District Congresswoman Julia Letlow, who is running for U. S. Senate after quite literally being dragged into the race by President Trump (after months-long urging by Gov. Jeff Landry directly to Trump for him to do so), certainly wasn’t spared a lambasting by Magee!  That opportunity arose (and he took full advantage of it) when Phillip “Bert” Callais, who recently appeared as a Sound Off Louisiana guest on the topic of “election integrity,” asked a question on carbon capture and sequestration:

3/10/26:  Magee responds to question on carbon capture, after which Echols does the same (Edmonds had to return to the Capitol for a committee meeting).

Arguably even more intriguing at the forum was the first question posed, which was by host and former State Representative Woody Jenkins.  The question posed of Echols and Magee by Jenkins centered on what Jenkins asserts are efforts by Gov. Landry to block the widening of Airline Highway from the Old Bridge to I-12.  Further, Jenkins asserts that widening initiative is “paid for” by the Move EBR plan passed by EBRP voters.  Jenkins also contends that Landry is backing instead a toll road covering that same stretch of Airline Highway:

3/10/26:  Echols and Magee respond to Jenkins’ question regarding Gov. Landry allegedly blocking the widening of Airline Hwy from the Old Bridge to I-12 paid for by Move EBR funds in favor of a toll road covering the same stretch of Highway.

CLICK HERE for the luncheon in its entirety.

One Louisiana State Police (LSP) Trooper’s reaction upon reading a WAFB Facebook Page summation of the Matthew Clair court hearing of Thursday, February 26, 2026.  The Trooper added:  “That’s BS!  They (LSP) train on defensive tactics every year, without fail.”

Today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature focuses on a court hearing which transpired on Thursday, February 26, 2026 in 19th JDC Judge William Jorden’s courtroom regarding WAFB’s lawsuit against LSP on which we reported on December 16, 2025:.

3/1/26:  Overview of Gray Media (WAFB) v. LSP court hearing of February 26, 2026.

In the above video, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns makes it clear that his focus is on the specificity of the court hearing and that, if anyone wants background on the Clair matter, to go to this feature.  Accordingly, let’s provide that background:

The Clair incident occurred in April of 2022 at the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center in Louisiana. It pertains to an interaction during the booking process of an arrestee who had been arrested for DWI.

The event was captured on surveillance video from a camera inside the detention center (operated by the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office), as Trooper Clair did not activate his body-worn camera during the encounter. According to accounts from state police representatives and testimony presented to the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC), the handcuffed inmate (restrained in front) charged at Trooper Clair, prompting the trooper to employ physical restraint measures, which included striking or hitting the individual to control the situation.

Trooper Clair maintained that the force was necessary to stop the charging inmate and prevent escalation. The inmate later pled guilty to assaulting the trooper. The Avoyelles Parish DA declined to file criminal charges against Clair.

An internal review by a five-member LSP Use of Force Board in 2022 was divided: three members deemed the force justified, while two found it excessive. Under then-Colonel Lamar Davis, the actions were classified as excessive, resulting in a 40-hour suspension without pay for Clair.

Clair opted to appeal the discipline on procedural grounds (alleging the investigation did not commence within the required 14-day window). Following a leadership change—Colonel Robert Hodges assumed command in January 2024—the discipline was reduced to a non-disciplinary “letter of counseling,” effectively nullifying the suspension and rendering related records less accessible to the public under agency policy.

The surveillance video has not been publicly released. WAFB-TV’s I-Team, led by Chief Investigator Chris Nakamoto, pursued multiple public records requests starting in early 2025 (approximately April onward) to obtain it, citing public interest in transparency regarding alleged excessive force. LSP initially provided conflicting responses (e.g., claiming ignorance of the request or non-existence of records), then confirmed possession of a copy of the video but denied WAFB’s request for release, invoking the trooper’s privacy rights. The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office reported providing a copy to LSP but deleting their original footage.

We encourage the watching of the above video to obtain a pretty detailed account of the courtroom dialogue of this past Thursday, February 26, 2026 and, on that video, we have strategically inserted a few short excerpts which, we assert, provide incredible reinforcement compliments of former Ascension Parish Sheriff Captain C. J. Matthews.

As stated on the video, we look forward to attending the March 18, 2026 hearing at which Judge Jorden makes public his decision and, we believe, soon thereafter watching a feature on WAFB to see just what all is on this video because we think it’s likely going to be quite revealing, especially given some of the commentary made by LSP attorneys referenced on the video above!

Screenshot from Govsalaries.com demonstrating that Louisiana State Police (LSP) Lt. James Jefferson III’s compensation for 2024 totaled $205,536.

In today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature, C. J. Matthews, former Ascension Parish Sheriff Captain on whom we conducted an extensive series entailing his pursuit of colleague Fred Corder, joined founder Robert Burns to discuss the lack of transparency to the public regarding LSP Lt. James Jefferson III’s arrest and subsequent appeal of the suspension handed down by LSP Col. Robert Hodges entailing that arrest.

We do issue a warning to anyone viewing the following video:  be advised that Burns defends Col. Hodges’ pursuit of his 84-hour suspension handed down to Jefferson:

2/25/26:  Matthews educates viewers on the criteria for probable cause to effectuate an arrest and discusses with Burns the lack of meaningful transparency to the public regarding the arrest of Jefferson on February 6, 2025.

As mentioned near the very end of the video, the WAFB Writ of Mandamus hearing entailing its lawsuit against LSP to obtain a video regarding LSP Trooper Mathew Clair in which questions of potential excessive force have been raised is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (February 26, 2026).  We look forward to attending the hearing and reporting upon its outcome.