DeSoto clerk of court arrested on electioneering charges — BDC archive

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MANSFIELD, La. -- DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court Jeremy Evans was arrested Tuesday morning on two counts of electioneering.

Evans was booked into the DeSoto Parish Detention Center and released on bond within an hour of turning himself in. The charges are misdemeanor offenses.

The arrest comes less than a week before Evans faces four challengers on Saturday's ballot. Evans is seeking his fourth term.

He became the subject of a state police investigation following a complaint he violated a law specific to campaigning in nursing homes. The law -- LRS 18:1334 - states no candidate can solicit votes, hand out campaign literature or place any political advertising in nursing homes past a certain deadline.

Evans posted photographs to his social media page on Sept. 20 during visits to two nursing homes in Mansfield. Evans is wearing a shirt with a "re-elect Jeremy Evans" logo and has his campaign literature in hand.

According to the law, campaigning is not allowed during a specific timeframe at nursing homes. That's because early voting ballots are delivered to residents prior to when the process opens to other voters.

In this instance, early voting started on Sept. 30. But the first day of early voting for nursing homes was Sept. 23. That meant campaigning was prohibited in nursing homes starting on Sept. 16 and extending through election day.

Ballots had already been delivered to the two Mansfield nursing homes.

Evans is considered the parish's top election official. The voting deadlines are included in literature the Secretary of State's office provides to parish election officials.

Evans said in a social media post his arrest was politically motivated, but added he is "prepared to face the consequences of any unintentional oversight on my part."

"I deeply regret any confusion or concern this situation may have caused. I understand the gravity of the allegations and the potential implications for our community's trust. However, I urge everyone to consider my track record, my dedication to bringing business and revenue to our Parish, and my ongoing efforts to improve our community's infrastructure," Evans said.

In a statement to media, the Secretary of State's office said it had been made aware of the "events in DeSoto Parish concerning the parish's Clerk of Court." All inquiries were directed to state police.

"Our office is prepared to provide the assistance necessary to ensure continuity in advance of the upcoming October 14 election, and will not be making further comment at this time," the statement read.

This is not the first time Evans has been accused of a violation in connection with an election.

In a letter to parish residents on Sept. 13, District Attorney Charles Adams cited numerous reasons he believed Evans should not be re-elected. Included is an incident that happened during the March 2022 election.

Adams said Evans instructed some of his commissioners-in-charge to let people vote in person even if records indicated they had already voted by mail or early ballot. Adams said the move was troubling since it's the clerk who trains the election commissioners.

When confronted by the Secretary of State investigators if he understood he should not have told his commissioners to let people vote twice, Evans responded, "I was informed that you know, you couldn't do that, yeah," according to Adams, who noted at that time Evans had been in office over 10 years.

In an unrelated matter, Evans in August was ordered to pay over $15,000 in attorneys’ fees and civil penalties for violating the state’s public records law.

DeSoto District Judge Nick Gasper said Evans must pay $10,648 in attorneys’ fees and cost of litigation plus $4,600 in civil penalties for failing to provide requested records in a timely manner. Evans has appealed the ruling.