Suspect accused of threatening the mayor of Bogalusa arrested

A week after Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Troung held a press conference to announce that he had filed a complaint with the city’s police department, district attorney and Louisiana State Police that he had receive threats on his life, an arrest has been made.

On Thursday, April 5, Jason Gavin, 51, was arrested and taken to the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, without incident, and booked for cyberstalking.

The threat had been posted on Facebook on March 29.

According to Truong, the threat had racial undertones as it referenced a time in history when “black men’s bodies were dumped in bodies of water in the South by terrorists.”

The post stated, “yeah, the mayor better watch it because he ain’t too far from Lake Pontchartrain. When he gets off in the evening, he might be taking a little ride.”

Truong said, “… let’s not delude ourselves, threats like these are derived by constant lies, misinformation and propaganda.”

Truong, at 23, defeated a two-term incumbent to become mayor of the city of approximately 11,000 in November of 2022.

This article originally published in the April 10, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.