Louisiana mayor says twerking ban a hoax

DEQUINCY, La., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The mayor of a Louisiana town falsely reported to have banned the "twerking" dance move said a misleading news release is the latest in a long line of pranks.

DeQuincy Mayor Lawrence Henagan said the town's government was not behind a release that indicated it was implementing legal penalties against those caught performing the provocative dance, ABC News reported Thursday.

"Everybody likes a good joke but after a while that's enough," Henagan said. "We wouldn't waste our time putting kids in jail if they're doing a dance not everyone approves of. We put criminals in jail."

The town has been pranked with fake news releases several times in the past, often using the website PRLog.

The previous false releases included a story about plans to issue guns to every student in the school district.

"We want to ensure you that this story is entirely false and we have no plans of arming our students. We take safety and individuals in our schools very seriously," the Calcasieu Parish School Board said. "Any conversation otherwise will not be tolerated."

PRLog did not immediately respond to a request for comment, ABC News said. The website's terms and conditions say contributors are "entirely responsible for the content" of each release.

Henagan said authorities are working to identify the pranksters behind the false releases. He said his town's residents are not easily fooled.

"This is a small town made out of a lot of good people," he says. "We're not just a bunch of dummies."