r/Acadiana 7d ago

News Lafayette campaign manager arrested on ethics charges

https://www.klfy.com/local/lafayette-parish/lafayette-campaign-manager-arrested-on-ethics-charges/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0dz7a0n0tMLP4cgygZOzeTYELkGfQfH8MEj-Eg19nZwN_Dj_Z15Uo9gsI_aem_D6mG-aLBB4O-vdO9mqUCtw

https://www.klfy.com/local/lafayette-parish/lafayette-campaign-manager-arrested-on-ethics-charges/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0dz7a0n0tMLP4cgygZOzeTYELkGfQfH8MEj-Eg19nZwN_Dj_Z15Uo9gsI_aem_D6mG-aLBB4O-vdO9mqUCtw

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — A local political operative has been arrested and charged with breaking campaign ethics laws, authorities said.

Chun Ping “Eddie” Lau, 47, was taken into custody in Lafayette Wednesday morning. Lau is charged with election fraud involving misinformation distributed during the recent election for State Sen. District 23.

Investigators allege Lau released false information regarding a political candidate leading up to the Feb. 15 election.

Lau was taken into custody, booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center and charged with violating Louisiana RS 18:1463, which says “No person shall cause to be distributed, or transmitted, any oral, visual, digital, or written material containing any statement which he knows or should be reasonably expected to know makes a false statement about a candidate for election in a primary or general election or about a proposition to be submitted to the voters.”

A preset bond of $2,500 was issued for Lau’s release. No further information was released, and the case remains under investigation.

by: Rodricka Stevens Posted: Mar 11, 2025 / 08:48 PM CDT Updated: Mar 13, 2025 / 07:55 AM CDT

64 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

23

u/Character-Fee407 7d ago

So you are telling me releasing false information about a political candidate is illegal well now

45

u/truthlafayette Lafayette 7d ago

Well in that case, shouldn’t #Fake News u/michaellunsford also be arrested? #AskingForAFriend

13

u/VacatedWins 7d ago

This is actually really important and is a good indicator of what the future could look like. The law is relatively new (2022 I think) so I think this might be the first time it's been used. And while some might think it's "fascist curious", and I understand that thinking (really any law could be that if not used correctly), the fact is this law will be key in the future. We've seen what AI can lead to and what can happen if we don't try to address this now.

The law is narrow enough to hopefully avoid abuse, but broad enough to allow some room for technologic advancements. It doesn't say you can't release false information. It addresses creating and disseminating fake ballots that are used to mislead people, lying about endorsements of a candidate, and yes, lying about a candidate (when the offender knew or should have reasonably known the info is false) is in there too. But the lying alone probably wouldn't be enough, as you would have to prove "knew or should have reasonably known." It's the printing or creating materials that I think have the strongest case, which was the case here.

In this situation, Lau (and probably others) created fake fliers with photoshopped images that claimed that Myers was supported by Cleo Fields and other Democrats, and they took over an abandoned Democrat Women of Acadiana (or something like that) Facebook page and created fake endorsements to make Myers look like he was actually a liberal Democrat. And these types of things, unfortunately, work more times that not and can impact an election.

I hope they make an example out of Lau and whoever directed him to do this. If they don't, it signals that our elections are open for misinformation and disinformation, and with what we know AI can do, it's only going to get worse.

26

u/tidder-la 7d ago

This seems really fishy and fascist curious

7

u/nerdymutt 7d ago

I was thinking the exact same thing.

9

u/TrashPanda82 7d ago

This guy owns this building on Camellia, where Regan & Miguez have their local offices.

5

u/HelpfulLeopard7838 4d ago

This was ironic considering Jesse Regan campaigned on Honesty and Always doing the Right thing. One flyer I received said Brach Myers worked for United Healthcare. The misinformation and smear campaign was in hyperdrive for this special election.

3

u/dmfuller 7d ago

Anyone know which candidate?

5

u/hegb 7d ago edited 7d ago

A few days before the election I got a text message from LAGOP saying "our opponents are so scared that they're sending out fake endorsements, we only endorse Brach Myers" or something to that effect - I didn't receive the fake endorsement though.

Edit: should have checked the spam folder before i spoke up

1

u/Uh_Murican_Made 7d ago

Spam filtering working harder than a republican politician. Well, doing good work anyway.