LAST CALL

Bar Shut Down After LSU Student’s Shocking Rape and Death

Madison Brooks, 19, had been at Reggie’s Bar before she was allegedly raped by four men, then killed in a hit-and-run.

A Louisiana bar where a 19-year-old Louisiana State University student imbibed before being raped and then killed in a hit-and-run has lost its liquor license. Madison Brooks had been at Reggie’s Bar in Baton Rouge before she was assaulted, with her attackers leaving her on the side of the road after raping her. In the aftermath, the bar—notorious for its confederate flag decor, according to Daily Mail—has come under fire, particularly by university President William Tate, who called her death “evil” and vowed to scrutinize businesses who serve underage drinkers. The bar previously lost its liquor license in 2017 after 37 people were arrested, many for underage drinking, according to the Daily Mail. In 2016, an LSU football player was stabbed at the bar several times, while a man was shot dead outside the bar in May 2022. Advocates say blaming alcohol for Brooks’ rape and subsequent death is misguided, calling for responsibility to fall on the men who allegedly raped her. “Alcohol did not cause her rape or her death,” Morgan Lamandre, president and CEO of advocacy group STAR, said. “The perpetrators caused her rape, which led to her being in a place that ultimately led to her death.”