The mother of Madison Brooks, a Louisiana State University student who was allegedly gang-raped and then struck and killed by a car in 2023, has criticised a defence motion seeking to stop courtroom spectators wearing pink during the trial of one of her accused attackers, Desmond Carter. Ashley Baustert said the colour is worn by supporters to honour her daughter's memory, and insisted the case should remain focused on Madison rather than on courtroom optics.

The defence's motion asks the court to bar spectators from wearing pink, a colour that has become associated with support for Brooks and her family since her death. Baustert pushed back publicly, saying the gesture carries no other agenda beyond remembering her daughter. Carter is among several men accused in connection with the alleged assault and Brooks' subsequent death after a night out in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.