UL AT MISSOURI • NOON • ESPN+ 5C GAMEDAY: PERKINS ON ACL RECOVERY, RETURN TO LSU 1C F L O R I D A A T L S U • 6 : 3 0 P. M . • A B C
THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
S at u r d ay, S e p t e m b e r 13, 2025
Charlie Kirk killing suspect arrested
$2.00X $2 00X
Witness testifies in Haynes bribery case Former DA employee says she predicted second scandal
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LINDSEy WASSON
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks Friday at a news conference as Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, left, and FBI Director Kash Patel listen in Orem, Utah.
22-year-old Utah man had become ‘more political,’ governor says BY ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, JESSE BEDAYN and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Associated Press
OREM, Utah — A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday. The arrest marked a major break in a case that shocked the country and raised fresh alarms about political violence in a deeply polarized United States. Tyler Robinson had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and
mentioned during a dinner with family that Kirk would be visiting Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference. The Republican governor cited as evidence engravings on bullet casings found in Kirk the rifle that authorities believe was used in the attack, as well as chat app messages attributed to the suspect that a roommate shared with law enforcement. The governor credited Robinson’s family with helping turn him over to authorities. “Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” Cox said soon after the arrest was first heralded by President Donald Trump on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends.” Robinson is believed to have acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing, Cox said. He was arrested on suspicion of capital murder, weapons and obstruction offenses. He was expected to be formally charged Tuesday ahead of an initial court appearance. Robinson’s arrest late Thursday capped
ä See SUSPECT, page 5A
ä See HAYNES, page 4A
Tyler Robinson
ä Southern law professor’s
social media post probed. PAGE 5A
ä Utah’s governor urges Americans to find ‘off-ramp’ from political violence. PAGE 5A
that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial plants, but which has drawn serious concerns from residents who question its long-term impacts. The order from the state DeBY DAVID J. MITCHELL partment of Energy and Natural Resources comes more than a Staff writer year and a half after the U.S. EnLouisiana has authorized the vironmental Protection Agency construction of its first carbon granted it authority to permit capture and storage well, open- wells for the technology, which ing the way to a new industry injects high-pressure carbon di-
WEATHER HIGH 95 LOW 71 PAGE 6A
State’s chronic absenteeism rate falls Drop comes after two years of increases
ä Acadian Ambulance
employee fired after post.
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO
PAGE 1B
Staff writer
La.’s first carbon capture well gets approval Residents question long-term impacts of industry
“Well, looks like the feds will be back,” Jessica Broussard, a former employee of the Lafayette District Attorney’s Office recalled telling Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes before the FBI raided his office in May 2023. Broussard testified Friday morning in Haynes’ federal bribery trial in Lafayette. Her comment referred to a previous bribery scheme in the District Attorney’s Office, when Mike Harson was district attorney. Haynes’ wife, Barna, Harson’s longtime assistant, went to federal prison for her role in that scheme. In that case, a Lafayette Haynes private investigator, Robert Williamson, gave cash and items to Haynes and other employees to fast-track mostly operating-while-under-the-influence cases through the judicial system and clear their records quickly. Prosecutors were prohibited from telling jurors that Haynes’ wife was involved in the earlier scandal. Broussard worked in the District Attorney’s Office when the FBI raided it in 2011. She opened the door for them, she said. A witness for the government, Broussard testified Friday that she was working in the office of Frederick “Fritz” Welter, an assistant district attorney in the 15th Judicial District, when Haynes, who was in charge of the pretrial intervention program, asked her to refer a specific case to his office without consulting with Welter first.
oxide in a near liquid state into formations deep underground. Issued based on well drilling, seismic testing, computer modeling and other data, the new Class VI permit near Hackberry would allow an arm of Sempra Infrastructure to build a well that could pump up to 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually for 20 years under Black
ä See WELL, page 4A
Lake Charles 10
27
Carbon storage well location
Calcasieu Lake 27
82
Gulf of Mexico
The share of Louisiana students who regularly miss school dropped 2 percentage points last year — a notable improvement after absenteeism rates climbed two years in a row. The state’s chronic absenteeism rate hit 22.5% during the 2024-25 school year, down from 24.6% the year prior, according to data recently released by the state Department of Education. It still hovers slightly above the pre-pandemic rate of about 18% in 2018-19. The decline is positive news for Louisiana, which, despite being one of only three states where average reading scores have rebounded to pre-COVID-19 levels, has struggled to address rising absenteeism.
Staff map
Business ......................3B Deaths .........................2B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................2B Living............................9C Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles 11C-13C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
ä See ABSENTEEISM, page 4A
101ST yEAR, NO. 75