NEW ORLEANS, La. — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has condemned an outdoor religious concert held over the weekend in the French Quarter featuring Grammy-winning Lafayette native Lauren Daigle that was not permitted by the city.
On Saturday, Daigle performed as part of an outdoor Christian concert in Jackson Square put on by Christian musician and activist Sean Feucht, which had hundreds of people standing shoulder to shoulder with few masks being worn or social distancing being practiced.
City Hall said on Sunday that the concert amounted to “clear violations of public health guidelines,” according to NOLA.com.
A spokesperson for Cantrell told NOLA.com that the city is reviewing footage of the gathering to weigh potential fines or other penalties against organizers or participants for violating the rules, which include social-distancing and face mask requirements.
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS OVER AMERICA tonight in New Orleans with @Lauren_Daigle 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/B6piHkmH7u
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) November 7, 2020
"While this was under the guise of a religious activity or event, we know it put our people in danger," Cantrell said during a Monday news conference.
Cantrell said that the gathering on Decatur Street was “not permitted, not allowed, not authorized, not coordinated at all by the City of New Orleans.”
Cantrell said she had received an email on Saturday prior to the event tipping her off to the concert. She said that she then did her due diligence to reach out to the event’s organizers to let them know that it would not be allowed within the City of New Orleans stating that the city’s guidelines would not permit it and to not “organize and do not come.”
Cantrell said that the organizers “used the pretense of religion to hold this event with other motives, and that simply was not right.”
You can watch the full press conference from Cantrell on Monday below:
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