A state district judge on Tuesday disqualified Antonio Wilson from running in the May 16, 2026 election for mayor of Tallulah, finding he failed to meet the residency and domicile requirements under Louisiana law.
Judge Angela Claxton of Division A of the Sixth Judicial District Court ruled from the bench Feb. 24 in the civil proceeding Liz Murrill, in her official capacity as Louisiana Attorney General, versus Antonio Wilson and Marion Hopkins, Clerk of Court. The petition sought to remove Wilson from the ballot under La. R.S. 18:492 and La. R.S. 33:384.
Wilson was not present when the case was called on the civil docket. The court appointed attorney Raymond Cannon to represent him. Proceedings recessed and later resumed after Cannon arrived.
The attorney general’s office argued that Wilson did not meet the requirement that a candidate for mayor “shall have been domiciled and actually resided for at least the immediately preceding year in the municipality,” as set forth in La. R.S. 33:384.
According to the petition filed Feb. 20, Wilson listed 1004 Ella Street in Tallulah as his domicile address when he qualified Feb. 12 for the May 16 primary. The petition alleged that the property is leased to a third party and that Wilson does not reside there. It further alleged that no one lived at the address from June 2025 through January 2026 and that Wilson has not lived there within the past year.
Testimony during the hearing included statements from Samantha Jones, identified in court as a probation and parole officer who has rented the Ella Street property since Jan. 23, 2026. An investigator with the attorney general’s office testified that an investigation began Feb. 19 and included a voluntary statement from Jones. The court also heard that the house had been vacant from April 2025 until late January 2026.
An investigator testified that he attempted service at the Ella Street address and was unable to locate Wilson. He said he spoke with a young woman at the residence who said she did not know Wilson.
Interim Mayor Yvonne Lewis testified that she objected to Wilson’s candidacy. According to court testimony, Wilson has previously used different addresses in connection with qualifying for office.
Attorney Cannon argued that Wilson has resided in Tallulah and that a prior challenge to Wilson’s candidacy in 2019 involved similar issues. In that case, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed a district court ruling disqualifying Wilson from running for mayor after finding he did not meet the domicile requirement. The appellate court held that domicile requires both residence and intent, and that documentary and testimonial evidence supported the finding that Wilson did not reside at the address listed on his notice of candidacy.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Claxton referenced the requirement that domicile be determined based on actual facts rather than declarations of intent. The court found that the burden of proof had been met by the petitioner and that Wilson did not satisfy the residency requirement for the year preceding qualification.
“Based on actual facts, not what he declares them to be,” Claxton said in rendering her ruling from the bench.
In a statement Tuesday, Lester Duhé, press secretary for Attorney General Liz Murrill, said, “Our office met its burden of establishing that he was not qualified to be a candidate because he was not domiciled in the municipality for one year preceding his qualification.”
The court ordered that Wilson be disqualified as a candidate for the office of mayor of the City of Tallulah in the May 16, 2026 primary election.
