ELTON, La. (KLFY) -- In Jefferson Davis Parish, a video from Elton town's council meeting shows the meeting ending in chaos.

Tensions rise in Elton as footage from a recent council meeting shows an discord break out. A verbal altercation led to the mayor being cited for simple battery after a woman yells for the mayor to keep her hands off of her.

Elton Mayor Kesia Lemoine tells News 10, the video did not show one of the people present threatening her and her family.

"Just recently we had a council meeting and they edited the clip and just showed my actions ," said Lemoine. "They did not show the beginning when Mr. Williams tried to attack."

We're told tensions were high during the meeting, and came to a head once the meeting ended.
As people were leaving, Heidi Newell, who was present during the discussions and seen in the video says the mayor hit her in the chest.

"I was video like we normally do because of situations, and she basically turned around and hit me in the chest and got my phone out of my hand," said Newell.

Lemoine says in that moment, she felt the need to protect not only herself, but also her family.

"As a mother, I'm a protector and that really made me come out of character," Lemoine explained.

She says she wants to take this moment to acknowledge that she's not proud of what happened, and it should not have gone that far.

"So and I do apologize for my actions because I am the mayor and they hold me to a different standard. But also I am human and I do have feelings," said Lemoine.

We reached out to the Jeff Davis Parish sheriff's office to confirm the citations but no one was available to do so.

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