Law enforcement officers found him there early April 17, and the man, Reynard Green, 34, was arrested. He was charged with simple burglary, trespassing, damaging property, drug possession and battery of a police officer.
A week after the episode, some questions remain: How did Green get inside, and why? The 8-acre property, which sits on Capitol Access Road and overlooks Capitol Lake, is gated, and the governor and the mansion are supposed to be protected by state troopers 24 hours a day.
With an investigation still underway, authorities are being tight-lipped for now. In a statement, the State Police said that they are “currently evaluating security procedures for potential areas of improvement.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, has not said whether he was inside the building at the time of the intrusion, and a spokeswoman for him said that “at no time did he feel anything other than safe.”
According to booking documents provided by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Green was found on the property around 6 a.m., and “there was an antique wooden table where Green was sleeping that was broken.”
The documents did not list any other items as broken or missing. They said Green was taken to a police facility for processing, and then things became violent: Green “took a swing” at a sergeant, and then again at an officer.
One officer found a substance that appeared to be synthetic marijuana in one of Green’s pockets, according to the documents.
Later, a sergeant who interviewed Green said that he tried to grab his service weapon. “I was able to stop Green from attempting to disarm me with a right elbow strike to the face,” the sergeant wrote.
Green, a Baton Rouge resident, remained in detention Tuesday evening. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer to represent him.
There are two governor’s mansions in Baton Rouge — one old, one new. The old one, built in 1930, is now a historical landmark and a museum downtown. The new one — where the intrusion took place last week — was built in 1963, but it was designed to evoke a Greek Revival style popular in the mid-1800s. Members of the public can take guided tours inside of the mansion.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.