Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry believes had the Ten Commandments been in the classroom of the man who tried to kill former President Donald Trump, they could have stopped his assassination attempt well in advance.
Landry’s comments came Thursday in an interview with Nexstar Television at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and were first reported by WVLA-TV’s Shannon Heckt.
The governor stands behind a new Louisiana law that will require every K-12 public school classroom, as well as those on college campuses that receive state money, to display the Ten Commandments.
Parents have sued to stop the law from being enforced, and Landry was asked to justify the expense of defending what many believe is an unconstitutional measure. The governor said the benefit of the Ten Commandments displays will far outweigh the state’s legal costs.
“I would submit that maybe if the Ten Commandments were hanging on (Thomas Crooks’) wall at the school that he was in, maybe he wouldn’t took a shot at the president,” Landry said.
In an interview with Nexstar Media, in defense of state spending on the Ten Commandments lawsuit @LAGovJeffLandry says he believes if the Ten Commandments was in the classroom of Thomas Crooks, the man who shot Trump, he may not have done it. #lalege #lagov pic.twitter.com/Lokjf4cW4g
— Shannon Heckt (@ShannonHeckt) July 18, 2024
Crooks opened fire at a Trump campaign rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring the pending Republican presidential nominee, killing one attendee and seriously injuring two others. Secret Service agents returned fire and killed Crooks, who had avoided security measures to perch some 150 yards away on the roof of a building.
Louisiana schools will have until Jan. 1, 2025, to place posters at least 11 by 14 inches in every classroom. The commandments could go up as soon as next month when students return to school.
Nine families have sued the state, arguing the new law amounts to the state endorsing a religion and conflicts with the First Amendment. They filed a preliminary injunction July 8 to stop schools from posting displays while their court case plays out.
U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District in Baton Rouge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, is presiding over the case. If he grants the injunction, it would prevent Ten Commandments displays from going up once the school year begins.
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