Grand jury indicts former Louisiana House Speaker for allegedly stealing rare state artifact

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A grand jury indicted former Louisiana House Speaker Clay Schexnayder on Wednesday on charges of felony theft and malfeasance in office for allegedly stealing a rare artifact that disappeared from the state capitol.

Schexnayder allegedly stole an old item cypress The billboard, valued at more than $25,000, was on display at the Louisiana State Capitol for decades. The felony theft charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison or a $50,000 fine.

Times Picayune Lawyer reported He said in September that Schexnayder had taken the board from the capitol more than a decade ago to display it in his legislative office in Gonzales, Louisiana.

Schexnayder did not respond to text and phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the indictment. He previously told The Times Picayune-Advocate that he had received permission to join the board, but that statement was denied by other government officials.

“You can’t keep state property, it doesn’t belong to you,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement.

A spokesman for Murrill’s office said the board “still hasn’t been saved.”

Schexnayder, a Republican, served as a state representative for part of southeast Louisiana from 2012 to 2024 before becoming term-limited. He served as speaker of the House from 2020 to 2024. He ran for secretary of state in 2023 and lost in the primary.

___

Brook is an affiliate member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. report for america is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.