This Dancing Protester May Be Reason Enough To #SaveTheParade In St. Martinville [VIDEO]

Some residents in St. Martinville are upset and protesting in the wake of their 55-year-old Newcomer's Mardi Gras parade being cancelled.

The if we could hand out #SaveTheParade trophies, the clear-cut winner would be the man dancing in the background of a KATC-TV3 report on the protests.

The decision to deny the parade permit was made by the mayor, even after the council's three to one vote. According to KATC-TV3, City Councilman Mike Fuselier voted against the permit explaining that "the parade isn't the problem," but rather the "amount of people" who attend.

In short, Fuselier says the parade is a safety hazard.

We had a drone video last year that showed that through the parade route, you literally had the crowd converging onto the street, past the barricades. There were no barricades to be seen. So, you literally had floats going through crowds of people.

Residents are divided, with some saying they don't feel safe attending the parade due to the number of people while others are protesting with signs and using the hashtag #SaveTheParade.

Newcomer's Parade President, Janice Anthony, says additional reasoning behind the parade's cancellation is the cost of security. Councilman Fuselier said the event would require approximately $30,000 in law enforcement toward a total of $200,000 needed to staff and barricade the parade route in St. Martinville.

According to Anthony, those numbers are not in the city's budget.

Do you think St. Martinville should have a Mardi Gras parade, or should it remain canceled?

[via KATC-TV3]