Governor Bobby Jindal’s motorcade roared into the back of an open-air Greek amphitheater a little past 10 a.m. Saturday on the Louisiana State University campus, en route to an event organized by the Louisiana Right to Life Federation. Dressed in a blazer and jeans, complete with an enormous fleur-de-lis belt buckle that read “Governor Bobby Jindal, State of Louisiana,” the 43-year-old Rhodes scholar stepped out of a black SUV and listened as evangelical pastor Jim Garlow introduced him to the raucous crowd of pro-life supporters. “God,” Garlow said, “I don’t believe in cloning, but if I did, could we clone him?”

As a happy coincidence for Jindal, he had just come from headlining “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis,” a day-long public prayer rally across campus, hosted by the American Family Association (AFA)—an evangelical organization backed by big money that also happens to be labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

And despite Jindal drawing criticism this week from his speech in London on European no-go zones for Muslims (and charges of Islamophobia), there was cause for the governor and his crowd to celebrate: Louisiana was recently named the most pro-life state in the country for the sixth straight year.

“That didn’t happen by accident,” Jindal told the crowd of a few hundred. “That happened because you prayed, you worked, you contacted your elected leaders, and as a result, we have overwhelming bipartisan majority that year after year takes a stand protecting innocent life.”

Jindal is expected to announce a run for the 2016 presidency, and while most of his GOP opponents were in Iowa over the weekend, Jindal kept it local: His target is evangelicals, and he was in the middle of that heat map.

Of course, the day also drew protesters, many of whom were appalled that a public university hosted what they saw as a religious and political event filled with hate.

I spoke to both groups about the reasons they showed up, as well as their thoughts on Jindal and his agenda.

Kandace, 24, Baton Rouge Amy K. Nelson

Steve, 64, Stonewall Amy K. Nelson



Jeremy, 28, Baton Rouge Amy K. Nelson

Karen, 50s, Baton Rouge Amy K. Nelson

Caligo, 35, New Orleans Amy K. Nelson

Delana, 25, Lafayette Amy K. Nelson

Rachel, 44, Lafayette Amy K. Nelson

Richard, 57, Baton Rouge Amy K. Nelson

Jackie, 60, and Bruce, 72, Baton Rouge, and Tom, 60, Denham Springs Amy K. Nelson

Jim, 52, Baton Rouge Amy K. Nelson

Amy K. Nelson is a journalist and photographer based in New Orleans. You can follow her on Twitter.