More continues to surface regarding the savage beating of Allee Bautsch, Bobby Jindal's chief fundraiser and her boyfriend Joe Brown, who got into an altercation with a gang of thugs after a $10,000 per plate GOP dinner outside of Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter.
The original story that ratcheted through the blogosphere was that the pair had been attacked for wearing Palin pins. I found that hard to believe at the time and it's since been debunked.
The latest nonsense is a Yahoo news account I won't even bother to link to which is of the 'friend told a friend' variety that shouts bogus. it also claims that the attacks 'may have been politically motivated' based on an alleged statement by one of the NOLA detectives investigating the crime.
In contrast, Michelle Malkin reproduces part of the police report to suggest that this was basically a drunken altercation with a bunch of thugs:
“Shortly before 10:30pm, Mr. Brown and Ms. Bautsch left the restaurant and began walking towards St. Louis. Street. Mr. Brown noted there were still several protesters loitering in the area, but not nearly the number which had been present earlier. Soon after leaving the restaurant, he heard what he described as ‘cat calls.’ At an unknown point within the 400 block of Royal Street, both Mr. Brown and Ms. Bautsch then crossed from the Brennan’s side of the street to the Supreme Court side of the street. They continued to walk towards St. Louis when Mr. Brown began to hear people behind him scream obscenities. Initially he was not sure if these were being directed at him and his girlfriend, or if they were simply the outbursts of drunken revelers. As they neared the intersection, Mr. Brown stated he heard subjects state thing such as, ‘Little blonde bitch,’ ‘You’re a fu**king faggot,’ and ‘You think you’re fu**king special.’ At this point Mr. Brown realized these derogatory terms were being directed at Ms. Bautsch and him. He then requested she begin to walk faster toward the Omni-Royal hotel located at the intersection of St. Louis and Royal. Mr. Brown also recalled the farther they got from the restaurant, the closer these subjects got to them. When they reached the corner of St. Louis and Royal, Mr. Brown and his date turned south on St. Louis. It was at this time that one of the subjects pushed him into the iron gate which surrounds the State Supreme Court. He then fell to the ground, and one of the attackers got on top of him and began to attack him. Mr. Brown stated as he was being pushed to the ground, Ms. Bautsch was also either pushed down or fell down near where he was. As he fought to get his attacker off of him, he heard his girlfriend cry out in pain. She then repeatedly stated,”Oh my god, my leg is broken.”
All of the attackers then ran away in an unknown direction. Mr. Brown then saw two uniformed Police Officers respond to their location. He requested they notify an ambulance as Ms. Bautsch was in obvious physical pain. The officers then did so. In response to Sergeant Gernon’s questions, Mr. Brown stated the majority of the protesters had left the area outside of Brennan’s about an hour prior to their leaving the restaurant. Additionally he was unsure if the attackers were the protesters. It should be noted that other than making reference to the victims being nicely dressed, along with other observations about their physical appearance, Mr. Brown did not hear them make any other comments.
She then goes on to suggest that this was merely another bad night 'in the crime-infested French Quarter.'
Sorry Michelle, I don't think so.
For one thing, as I've already pointed out, the 'Qwatah' is one of the few parts of the Big Easy that isn't infested with violent crime.As a tourist trap, a business site to many influential property owners and a money pit, the city allots plenty of police protection and good lighting to keep it that way.
In fact, this beating occurred practically right in front of the Quarter Police Precinct.
Second, let's consider the nature of the injuries. Brown suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a badly fractured jaw while Allee Bautsch was beaten so badly that her broken leg required pins in her leg and ankle and is going to take months to heal up. This kind of level of mayhem goes far beyond what normally occurs in a typical drunken brawl.
As I previously pointed out, the savage nature of the beat down, the fact that the gang was already in place and the location it occurred at - practically right in front of the police station - doesn't suggest a gang of leftist thugs or a random testosterone fueled street combat to me. It suggests some people who were not only skilled in doling out bodily harm in just the right amount to injure severely and not do any permanent damage but who had reason to believe they weren't going to be interrupted while they were doing it.
I also note that this happened last Saturday night, but it took three days or anyone to issue a statement or for the story to break...which might very well be the case if people needed to get their stories straight.
Louisiana in general and the Big Easy in particular are known for being some of the most corrupt places in America, and Jindal's chief money generator, Allee Baustch is a fairly high profile individual locally, just like any fundraiser is.
This could very well have been a message to Jindal or to someone else. For that matter, it could even have been a message to Brennan’s ownership, which has been involved in a labor dispute involving the genteel SEIU. Or, since N'awlins is heavily mobbed up, this could very well had something to do with some of the area's organized crime families.
In any event, I don't think this was a case of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time with a bad moon risin' in New Orleans.
Thanks for sharing your opinion on whether this was politically motivated. I'll go with Joe Brown's actual statements rather than with your gut feelings.
ReplyDeleteViolence is actually quite common in the French Quarter in the evenings due to very high alcohol consumption and resulting altercations. The alleged comments from the assailants suggest that there may have been some previous statements made by Brown and Bautsch to the assailants. If so, 'twould be very interesting to know what they were.
Hi Nola,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by.
Again, I'll point out that it took three days for any statements to come out, ample time for people to put their heads together and figure out how to present this..and some of the details have changed since the original version.
It simply doesn't ring true.
Based on the nature of the injuries, the way the gang was in place beforehand and the fact this practically took place in front of the police precinct, I doubt this was politically motivated in the way I think you mean..some Leftist thugs out to finish off an evening of 'protest.'
I also have my doubts that Brown or Bautsch initiated anything, Instead, it seems like they were targeted.
BTW when I was talking about violence, I was talking about muggings, etc. not yer usual bar fight. We both know how those usually end..and they don't usually end with this level of injury, with the woman being targeted for special brutality.
Also note that according to Brown's statement, NOLA's finest were nowhere to be found, but showed up immediately after the incident.
I doubt we'll ever find out exactly what happened, but I doubt any perps will ever be arrested for this one.
Regards,
Rob
After several unnerving murders near the apartment buildings I used to own in NJ, I discussed getting a gun with my wife. She forbid it and suggested I sell the buildings if I thought I needed a gun. Pretty good advice.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, NJ is corrupt through and through, with the level of corruption astonishing in Hudson County.
I ended up buying several cans of pepper spray and always carried one with me. I have recently relaxed that although they are always in my car...If the victims had been carrying pepper spray, they might have had a chance to escape. If you live in a place like that, I strongly recommend buying and carrying it...