Overview
- About 350 Guard members began deploying this week, with a full presence by New Year’s, to bolster the French Quarter’s enhanced security zone for New Year’s Eve, the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras through Feb. 28.
- The mission operates under Title 32, leaving command with Gov. Jeff Landry and Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux while the federal government covers costs.
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Guard will support federal partners including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, coinciding with DHS’s Operation Catahoula Crunch in New Orleans.
- The deployment follows Landry’s request first made in September and stands in contrast to the Supreme Court’s block of a Chicago Guard activation that lacked support from Illinois leaders.
- Supporters cite event security and added capacity, including Louisiana soldiers returning from Washington, D.C., while critics question necessity given reported declines in violent crime.