Louisiana Judges Sue to Block Law Erasing Black-Majority Districts

KEMETIC MINDS
Civil Rights Watch — Daily Update — August 20, 2026

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Good evening — this is the August 20, 2026 evening edition of Civil Rights Watch. In the last 24 hours, three sitting Louisiana judges moved to reopen a decades-old Voting Rights Act case, Wisconsin voting-rights groups filed a new state Supreme Court brief, and federal prosecutors leveled hate-crime charges over an attack at a Manhattan synagogue. Here is what is documented so far, and what remains contested.

• Louisiana: Three 19th Judicial District Court judges filed a motion to reopen a 1980s-era federal Voting Rights Act case and block Act 243, which replaced two majority-Black subdistricts with an at-large seat without federal court approval (WAFB, 2026).
• Wisconsin: BLOC and Law Forward urged the state Supreme Court to overturn a July appeals court ruling that circuit courts lack authority to extend polling hours in emergencies (Yahoo News, 2026).
• North Carolina: A mid-decade congressional map passed via Senate Bill 249 redrew Congressional District 1, the state’s historic Black Belt district (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).
• Hate crimes: Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx faces two federal hate-crime counts plus destruction of religious property charges for the Aug. 14 Central Synagogue attack (Gothamist, 2026).
• Project 2025: A new WNYC segment examines the ideological and generational fight inside the Heritage Foundation, the think tank behind Project 2025 (WNYC, 2026).

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1. Louisiana Judges Move to Reopen Voting Rights Act Case

Three judges on Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court — Don Johnson, Ron Johnson, and Gail Horne Ray — have filed a motion to reopen a federal voting rights case that dates back to the 1980s, according to lawyer Steven Irving. Numerous other plaintiffs are attached to the same case number (WAFB, 2026). The motion to reopen targets Gov. Jeff Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill, and Secretary of State Nancy Landry (WAFB, 2026). The underlying lawsuit is not new — the motion to reopen it is (WAFB, 2026).

The case traces to a 1991 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Louisiana’s system for electing state judges violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters’ power (WAFB, 2026). To resolve it, East Baton Rouge’s 19th JDC was split into three election subdistricts — two of them majority-Black — under a federal court judgment and a consent decree (WAFB, 2026).

In 2025, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 243, eliminating the three-subdistrict map and replacing it with two subdistricts and a new at-large seat, without seeking approval from the federal court that established the original consent decree (WAFB, 2026). Under the prior map, nine of the 19th JDC’s 15 judges were Black and six were white (WAFB, 2026).

The plaintiffs ask the federal court to reopen the historical case, declare Louisiana is still bound by the original consent decree, and block Act 243 from taking effect — requesting an expedited ruling as the 2026 judicial elections approach (WAFB, 2026). They allege Act 243 was “specifically drawn” to reverse the court’s racial composition, and that lawmakers intervene “when white voting power is at stake” but not when Black voting power is diluted (WAFB, 2026). WAFB has reached out to all three defendants; the Attorney General’s Office issued statements late Wednesday evening (WAFB, 2026).

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2. Wisconsin Voting-Rights Groups Push Poll-Hours Appeal

Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) and the voting-rights law firm Law Forward filed a brief Wednesday urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take a case seeking to overturn a July appeals court decision (Yahoo News, 2026). That decision held that circuit courts in Wisconsin do not have the authority to extend polling place hours due to unforeseen circumstances (Yahoo News, 2026).

The dispute stems from the Democratic National Committee’s lawsuit to extend hours at two polling places at UW-Whitewater during the 2024 presidential election, after long lines stretched for hours — partly for voters completing same-day voter registration (Yahoo News, 2026). A Walworth County judge agreed with the DNC at the time and extended the hours; the Republican National Committee appealed (Yahoo News, 2026).

In July, a three-judge panel of the District 2 Court of Appeals — with conservative judges Mark Gundrum and Shelley Grogan writing the majority opinion and liberal Judge Lisa Neubauer concurring separately — ruled that circuit-court extensions of voting hours could undermine confidence in elections and that circuit courts lack that authority (Yahoo News, 2026). Neubauer wrote that courts should maintain the authority to extend voting hours: “extraordinary or emergency circumstances can support extension of polling hours when these statutes are applied in violation of the electors’ constitutional right to vote” (Yahoo News, 2026).

The new brief argues it is “unmistakable” that Wisconsin courts have long held that a person’s right to vote should win out, citing “150 years of precedent — in at least 12 separate cases,” including an 1875 case in which the Court found “it would be a fraud on the constitution” (Yahoo News, 2026). The brief asks the state Supreme Court to take the case; the July appeals ruling remains the decision at issue (Yahoo News, 2026).

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3. North Carolina’s Mid-Decade Map Targets the Black Belt

A new Nonprofit Quarterly analysis contrasts the spectacle of the America 250 celebrations with the reality of North Carolina’s voting laws. On June 14, the White House South Lawn sprouted a 92-foot steel rig nicknamed “The Claw,” built around a fighting cage so President Trump could host UFC Freedom 250 on his 80th birthday — a date the administration framed as the kickoff to the nation’s 250th anniversary (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026). Days earlier, SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, the largest in history, pushed Elon Musk past the trillion-dollar mark, making him the first trillionaire, richer than the combined wealth of the next four richest people on Earth (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).

The same period, the outlet reports, capped “years of work” by the North Carolina legislature dismantling the voting power of students, Black communities, immigrant citizens, and rural voters (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026). Since federal voting rights protections were first weakened in 2013, the piece argues, the state legislature has used a “death by a thousand cuts” strategy to strip power from the people (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).

In October, North Carolina Republicans pushed through a brand-new congressional map in the middle of the decade — something states almost never do outside of court order (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026). Using Senate Bill 249, the legislature redrew Congressional District 1, the historic Black Belt district in the northeast part of the state that has elected a Black representative to Congress (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).

The piece also cites a survey released this spring finding that nearly half of American adults worry they won’t be able to afford the health care they need, and roughly a third have skipped meals, rationed medications, or fallen behind on utility bills to cover basic health costs in the past year (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).

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4. The Heritage Foundation’s Internal Fight Over Project 2025’s Future

The Brian Lehrer Show aired the latest installment of a three-part series on divisions within political movements, this one focused on the Heritage Foundation — the think tank behind Project 2025 (WNYC, 2026). Guest Andrew Hale, a fellow for international relations, economics, and trade at Advancing American Freedom, discussed the “ideological and generational fight” inside the Foundation and what the battle over its direction says about where the Republican Party is headed after Trump (WNYC, 2026).

The episode is available on WNYC’s site. Its photo caption shows Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking with Heritage Foundation President Kevin D. Roberts at the Foundation on February 9, 2026 (WNYC, 2026).

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5. Federal Hate Crime Charges in Manhattan Synagogue Attack

Federal authorities in New York charged Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, on Tuesday with two counts of committing hate crimes and destruction of religious property resulting in bodily injury, Gothamist reports (Gothamist, 2026). Montes was already facing state hate-crime charges; the federal case was filed in the Southern District of New York (Gothamist, 2026).

Prosecutors allege that on Aug. 14, during a Friday night Shabbat service attended by roughly 375 people at Central Synagogue, Montes stood up shouting, struck two ceremonial silver candlesticks, and punched a congregant in the face (Gothamist, 2026). As security guards and law enforcement attempted to handcuff him, he allegedly directed a racial slur at a Black security guard, spat in the guard’s face, and headbutted him near his left eye (Gothamist, 2026). He is also alleged to have said “f— you people” and “I don’t f— with you people,” and to have said he planned to return to the synagogue (Gothamist, 2026).

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the charges demonstrate the DOJ’s willingness to “intervene to protect the public in the face of antisemitic and racially motivated attacks,” and that “Americans’ fundamental right to worship without fear of bias-motivated violence is sacrosanct” (Gothamist, 2026).

His aunt told the New York Post that Montes was “mentally traumatized because of his desire to belong to [Judaism]” — a family account relayed by Haaretz, not an official finding (Haaretz, 2026).

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What’s Disputed or Unconfirmed

• Louisiana: The claim that Act 243 was “specifically drawn” to reverse the 19th JDC’s racial composition is the plaintiffs’ allegation, not a court finding (WAFB, 2026). The Attorney General’s Office responded late Wednesday, but the substance of its statements is not yet in the public record as of this edition (WAFB, 2026).
• Wisconsin: The BLOC/Law Forward brief argues the state Supreme Court should overrule the July appeals decision; no high-court ruling is reflected in the sourcing, and the appeals court decision remains in effect until then (Yahoo News, 2026).
• North Carolina: The Nonprofit Quarterly piece is analysis, and its characterization of legislative intent — “death by a thousand cuts” — is the outlet’s framing, though the passage of Senate Bill 249 and the redrawing of District 1 are concrete actions it reports (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).
• Synagogue attack: Every act described is what prosecutors allege; Montes has been charged, not convicted (Gothamist, 2026). The aunt’s account of his mental state, reported via the New York Post, is a family claim that has not been independently verified (Haaretz, 2026).

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How to Verify This Yourself

• Court dockets (Louisiana & Wisconsin): Search PACER for the motion to reopen the 19th Judicial District Court Voting Rights Act case, and the Wisconsin court system’s public case search for the BLOC/Law Forward brief and the July appeals opinion (WAFB, 2026; Yahoo News, 2026).
• Bill text (North Carolina): Look up Senate Bill 249 and the enacted congressional map on the North Carolina General Assembly’s bill lookup (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2026).
• Federal charges (New York): Consult the Justice Department Civil Rights Division’s announcement and the Southern District of New York docket for the Central Synagogue case (Gothamist, 2026).

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References

1. Yahoo. (2026, August 19). BLOC, Law Forward file brief urging Supreme Court to overrule decision on voting hours extension. yahoo.com
2. Wafb. (2026, August 19). I-TEAM: Federal lawsuit filed against Governor, AG and Secretary of State over voting rights. wafb.com
3. WNYC. (2026, August 19). Divisions Within Political Movements: The Heritage Foundation. wnyc.org
4. Nonprofit Quarterly. (2026, August 20). The Gap Between the Spectacle of America 250 and Reality: Lessons from North Carolina’s Fight for Voting Rights. nonprofitquarterly.org
5. Washington Times. (2026, August 19). Bronx man charged with hate crimes in Manhattan synagogue attack, DOJ says. washingtontimes.com
6. Eurasia Review. (2026, August 19). New York City Man Charged With Federal Hate Crimes For Attack At Manhattan Synagogue. eurasiareview.com
7. Gothamist. (2026, August 19). Bronx man faces federal hate crime charges in Central Synagogue attack. gothamist.com
8. Haaretz. (2026, August 19). Man Charged With Hate Crimes After New York Central Synagogue Attack. haaretz.com

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