SCOTUS Plaintiff Behind Gutting the Voting Rights Act Was a Jan. 6 ‘Stop the Steal’ Protester
Black Americans are still reeling from the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision gutting key protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now, a new report is raising fresh concerns about the man at the center of the case that led to the historic ruling.
According to reporting from Democracy Docket, Phillip “Bert” Callais, the lead plaintiff in the case known as Louisiana v. Callais, allegedly promoted election conspiracy theories and even attended the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” protest in Washington, D.C., years before challenging his home state’s majority-Black voting district.
We previously told you that the high court’s 6-3 ruling dramatically weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which had been used to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps and election policies for decades. Black leaders warned the decision would open the floodgates for aggressive Republican-led redistricting efforts that could dilute Black voting power across the South. Since then, Black folks in the South have been feeling the effects.
In the original lawsuit, Callais was described simply as a “non-African American voter” from Brusly, Louisiana, who challenged the state’s congressional map after lawmakers created a second majority-Black district. But Democracy Docket’s investigation paints a more politically charged picture.
The outlet exposed Callais for questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election and even going to the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the deadly Capitol riot. While it’s unclear who exactly Callais voted for or if he actually participated in the Capitol attack, the report confirmed the Louisiana man posted tons of photos and videos from D.C. during the protest.
“It wasn’t total chaos as the news will lead you to believe,” Callais said in a video he took from the outside of the Capitol building. As recently as February, he took to X to tell one user with a disability to “find someone to haul you to the polls” following their criticism of President Donald Trump trying to end mail-in voting.
He’s even referred to the country’s election system as “rigged” while also criticizing Democrats like former Vice President Kamala Harris and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz. And in the days following the court’s ruling, Callais was pictured shaking hands with a well-known election denier, who called Callais a “hero,” according to the report.
These bombshell revelations have only intensified criticism surrounding the court’s majority-conservative decision, which voting rights advocates already viewed as a devastating rollback of civil rights protections. Additionally, experts warned the decision could trigger new gerrymanders in Southern states, including Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida, according to The Guardian.
For Black Americans, these concerns have already taken shape. Following the SCOTUS ruling, Republicans in Louisiana moved to draw a new congressional map. In Florida and Tennessee, activists have challenged GOP efforts to redraw district lines.
