TROPICAL STORM: Bertha makes quiet landfall in St. Bernard 3A
THE
ADVOCATE T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T h u r s d ay, J u ly 23, 2026
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‘It’s not over’
Felony charges for Murrill dismissed amid pressure AG accuses New Orleans leaders of weaponizing grand jury Special prosecutor criticizes ‘extraordinary interference’
Two BR officials testify in grand jury probe Louisiana attorney general’s investigation into corruption continues BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
Two more Baton Rouge officials testified Wednesday before a grand jury as part of the Louisiana attorney general’s investigation into political corruption in Baton Rouge. Council member Twahna P. Harris, Banks who was elected in 2024, and Chauna Banks, who sat on the council from 2013 to 2024, each received subpoenas last week and testified Wednesday in the probe, which has now yieldHarris ed nine arrests. Eight current or former Metro Council members have now been interviewed before the
ä See PROBE, page 4A
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Gov. Jeff Landry begins to speak as Attorney General Liz Murrill gives a statement about the felony charges pressed against her from an Orleans Parish grand jury during a news conference in Baton Rouge on Wednesday. BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Less than three weeks after an Orleans Parish grand jury handed up felony charges against Attorney General Liz Murrill, special prosecutor Laurie White dismissed the indictment Wednesday morning under pressure from the same elected New Orleans leaders who were Murrill’s purported victims. The decision to dismiss the 16-count indictment drew approval from Murrill and Gov. Jeff Landry, but little sign that it had ended a raging political drama. At an afternoon news conference, Landry and Murrill backed state and federal investigations into the origins of the grand jury probe. Landry said he supported a request by U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, for an FBI investigation, on top of a Louisiana State Police probe the governor ordered shortly after Murrill’s July 2 indictment on counts of public intimida-
tion and malfeasance in office. Landry went further on Wednesday, calling for Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams to “have his law license ripped from him” for urging the New Orleans City Council to back an election for a citywide court clerk and appoint an interim. The council’s move prompted Murrill in May to warn Mayor Helena Moreno, Williams and five City Council members in letters that they were violating the law and risking their elected posts. The grand jury decided those letters amounted to crimes. Murrill blamed Williams — “He’s not a victim. He started all of this.” — and cast their relationship as deeply damaged by the indictment. Their two offices have collaborated in a partnership that Williams called “a hallmark of my administration” in his letter to White on Tuesday. Murrill said Williams knew better as she accused city leaders of weaponizing the grand jury.
“It’s not over,” she said. “That dismissal of that indictment today was not an effort to simply get us all back together to be friends again. First of all, you can’t be friends with somebody who wants to put you in jail for 80 years. So, you know, friendship is not really on the table.” Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. The dismissal came amid mounting repercussions to New Orleans from Landry and state political leaders. Landry vetoed more than $33 million in state funding lawmakers intended to send to New Orleans, and Moreno withdrew a request for State Bond Commission approval of a $110 million bond sale, citing warnings that Landry and Murrill would not support it. The blowback prompted all eight of Murrill’s purported victims to sign letters Tuesday urging White to reconsider a case that the Louisiana Supreme Court
ä See MURRILL, page 4A
Baton Rouge hockey returns to its origins Minor league team will take the ice as the Kingfish BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer
The Kingfish are back. Baton Rouge’s minor league hockey team will enter its third life under its original name, the Baton Rouge Kingfish, a reference to former Gov. Huey P. Long. The Kingfish will take the ice this upcoming season as part of the Federal Prospect Hockey League under new owners after the previous franchise, the Zydeco, shuttered earlier this year.
ä See HOCKEY, page 4A
U.S. military conducting 12th night of strikes against Iran Iranian foreign minister: His country will adopt an ‘eye for an eye’ doctrine
BY JON GAMBRELL and COLLIN BINKLEY
Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it was conducting a 12th night of strikes against Iran as both sides increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure. U.S. Central Command said the
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attacks were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping. President Donald Trump warned earlier Wednesday that the U.S. would destroy one bridge or pow-
energy that remains largely closed. The unpopular war threatens furer plant each time Iran shoots at a ther worldwide economic disruption ship in the strait. and is sending fuel prices up ahead “From this point forward, any of midterm U.S. elections this fall. time the Islamic Republic of Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s shoots at a ship in the Strait of foreign minister, said his country The continued American air- would adopt an “eye for an eye” Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device strikes are occurring even as diplo- defense doctrine. or weapon, the United States will matic efforts show little public sign “Any aggression against Iran, bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE of progress and officials on both including our infrastructure, will OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote sides have dug in on the dispute ä See IRAN, page 4A on social media. over the crucial waterway for global
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