Fighting amid the volunteer search effort in the SEACOR power disaster has made its way to court.
The head of the United Cajun Navy has filed a protective order against a volunteer and even made allegations against the father of one of the missing men.
The protective order, filed in East Baton Rouge Parish, makes allegations of extortion and cyberbullying, but the volunteer who's accused is fighting back.
Volunteer Christifer DeRouen has become a fixture on Facebook, giving updates on the search for the SEACOR seven.
“You've literally gone after the wrong man,” said Christifer DeRouen.
In recent weeks, he's raised questions about money collected by the United Cajun Navy and where it's going.
The organization has now accused him of extortion and cyberbullying.
"They really believe that if they keep doing this, they're going to shut us down to try to cause harm to the organization but just too well oiled at this point to be taken down by amateurs,” said United Cajun Navy Spokesperson Brian Tracsher.
DeRouen defended himself in a video over an hour long on Facebook.
“I have to defend myself, and I will. I've done nothing wrong,” said DeRouen.
The protective order filed by the United Cajun Navy also makes similar allegations against Scott Daspit, the father of missing crew member Dylan Daspit.
“The fact that you would target a man that's been leading a search for his son with accusations like this is utterly disgusting,” DeRouen.
The United Cajun Navy spokesman maintains the organization hasn't done anything wrong and was committed to the search effort.
"Once donations started coming in there were certain people they feel like they should be getting compensated for being out there instead of being volunteers and we told him that we were spending a lot of money on fuel, hotels, planes all the other stuff we were doing,” said Tracsher.
The two sides will be in court on May 20th.
RELATED STORY: United Cajun Navy leader alleges extortion, cyberstalking by search volunteers
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
