Particle.news
Download on the App Store
12 ARTICLES
·
4h ago

New Orleans Tightens French Quarter Security for New Year’s as National Guard Deploys a Year After Bourbon Street Attack

Key investigative findings remain under wraps, with permanent protections left to the incoming administration.

Buck Harley, a cigar shop manager, stands outside of his store Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
An opened gate is seen at the Bourbon Street corner in New Orleans on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, the site of a Jan. 1, 2025, fatal vehicle ramming attack which led the city to bolster its safety measures in the area. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Miguel Thornton stands under memorial flags for the victims of a Jan. 1, 2025, vehicle ramming attack, outside of the Bourbon Street bar, where he works, on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Image

Overview

  • Hundreds of officers and 350 National Guard troops are enforcing an Enhanced Security Zone from Canal to St. Ann between Royal and Dauphine, with bag searches, no vehicles and restricted hotel access points.
  • Bourbon Street is pedestrian-only from sunset Dec. 31 to sunrise Jan. 1, with added downtown closures planned around the New Year’s Eve events and post–Sugar Bowl traffic.
  • The city detailed additional rules that include no drones during set hours, broad no-parking zones across key corridors and the closure of Crescent Park on New Year’s Eve.
  • Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office completed its report on the 2025 attack but is withholding release for security reasons as agencies coordinate through Mardi Gras.
  • Lawsuits by 80 victims and families alleging preventable security failures continue, while only one high-speed–rated gate is installed and votes on further barriers are deferred until Mayor-elect Helena Moreno takes office.