Youngsville Police Chief Jean-Paul "JP" Broussard hired for his recent campaign the same man who is alleged to have sent out false information in a senate race.
Broussard's campaign hired RM Partners LLC to run political advertisements throughout the Youngsville area, according to public campaign finance reports. The company is owned or at least partly operated by Chun Ping "Eddie" Lau, who was arrested Wednesday after police say he violated state campaign ethics law by allegedly distributing information he knew was false.Â
Broussard's campaign paid around $25,000 to RM Partners for such things as digital ad purchases, door-to-door push card deliveries and campaign finance reporting.Â
Broussard confirmed his campaign did hire RM Partners and that he has spoken with Lau on several occasions. He added that at no time did Lau suggest spreading false information.
"I wanted to run a clean campaign from day one," Broussard said.Â
But at least one text message allegedly sent during the campaign appears to be from a political group that does not exist.
The text, which said it was paid for by Louisiana Republican Citizens Group, questioned interim Chief Cody Louviere's political affiliation, stating that he only recently was a registered Republican.Â
"Hello! Cody Louviere, candidate for Youngsville Chief of Police, was registered as no-party and then switched to Republican in 2023... Paid for by Louisiana Republican Citizens Group," the message read, according to a source.Â
LRCG is not registered in the state, according to campaign finance reports and secretary of state business filings.
Broussard would not comment directly about text messages regarding Louviere's political affiliation. He did say that RM Partners did send out a message reminding voters to cast their ballots.
The text message sent during the police chief race is similar to one in the Senate District 23 race that resulted in an investigation and Lau's arrest.
Brach Myers said the day after he defeated Jesse Regan, a Broussard councilman, that he had filed a complaint with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office about someone distributing during the campaign information that the Lady Democrats of Lafayette group endorsed him. Â
Myers and Regan both are Republicans, and the Lady Democrats group no longer exists.
Regan told The Acadiana Advocate days after the election that neither he nor his campaign had anything to do with the fake campaign information, and he hoped the culprit would be brought to justice.
Lau's arrest is a result of a cyber investigation led by Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division in conjunction with the Louisiana Attorney General's Office Bureau of Investigation.
During a search, detectives seized various electronic devices for processing and evidence gathering, a Sheriff's Office news release states.Â
Lau was taken into custody Wednesday and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center. The bond was set at $2,500.
Staff Writer Claire Taylor contributed to this article.Â
