A months-long clash over public records requests has prompted West Baton Rouge officials to sue the founder of a small local news outlet — and has drawn a national freedom of information group into the fray.
The West Baton Rouge Parish government says it sued in response to threatened litigation from the journalist, John Summers. Summers argues the suit is aimed at stifling his investigative reporting into the West Baton Rouge Fire Department.
Summers is the editor and main reporter for the West Baton Rouge Independent, which covers governmental affairs in the parish. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a national pro bono legal group, countersued the parish on behalf of Summers…