Jaclyn Hotard, President of St. John the Baptist Parish has been accused of lying in court for failing to disclose information related to a grain terminal project, in an ongoing lawsuit by Joy Banner, a local environmental activist, court records show.

At the U.S Eastern District of Louisiana, where the deposition took place Hotard claimed while under oath that she did not know that her mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, could have profited financially from the parish rezoning plans to make way for a controversial grain elevator proposed by Greenfield Louisiana.

“I don’t know about their business or what land they purchase or don’t purchase. So anything you would tell me about that company would be a (surprise) to me. Because I’m just not involved at all,” Hotard said during the deposition.

The controversial project, which was later shut down, required rezoning the area for industrial use. It would have been built close to historic sites and residential homes in a predominantly Black community.

She also said that she and her mother-in-law did not correspond about the grain terminal and had no discussion about it or the property owned by her mother-in-law’s marine transport company.

Judge Karen Wells Roby had ordered Gaudet, who was subpoenaed, to turn in text messages where she and Hotard had discussed the Greenfield Grain Terminal, the value of Gaudet’s land, and St. John the Baptist Parish Council votes regarding Greenfield and Banner.

After unsuccessfully fighting the subpoena, Gaudet turned in the text messages to the court, acknowledging she had exchanged text messages with Hotard as a part of the ongoing lawsuit filed by Joy Banner – co-founder and co-executive director of The Descendants Project, an organization dedicated to historic preservation and racial justice.

The texts specifically identified Hotard using profanities and violent language about Banner, calling her a “bitch” and saying that she wanted to choke her. Hotard also said of the Banner sisters, “I hate these people.”

Other text messages showed Hotard texting her mother-in-law images of Gaudet’s land, highlighting it on a map and discussing its valuation. The document also includes messages from Gaudet to Hotard before and after the parish council voted, on April 9, 7-2 in favor of rezoning.

“These communications show that Defendant Hotard lied when she swore under oath that ‘no such documents exist’ and that she was not aware of Ms. Gaudet’s business,” Banner’s attorneys said in the court filing. 

At a council meeting in Nov. 2023, Banner had opposed a council motion to retain a private law firm, using taxpayer funds, to defend Hotard from any potential charges by the Louisiana Board of Ethics. 

The complaint by Banner against Hotard pointed out that her mother-in-law allegedly would benefit financially because she owned and managed a marine transport company that had land close to the area being rezoned.

Banner later sued the parish in Dec. 2023 after Hotard and another parish councilman, Michael Wright, threatened her with arrest and stopped her from speaking during a public comment period at the Nov. 2023 council meeting which she said violated her First Amendment rights.

Banner’s attorneys, Dave Lanser and William Most had asked the judge to sanction Hotard, pay Banner’s attorney fees, and order Hotard to appear for another deposition. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial early next year.