NEW ORLEANS -- A total of eight strip clubs were raided by police in New Orleans this week.
Some have either closed their doors or are staying open without being able to serve alcohol. It’s put hundreds of workers out of jobs.
"I am close to my family, I'm a dog owner, I'm an aerialist, and I also have a full-time job in public health,” Alison Huddleston said.
Huddleston is one of the dancers now out of work.
"For me dancing is a really important side hustle,” she said.
Part of that dancing includes taking off her top.
"We're here to provide entertainment, and that's what we do it's not seedy, we're not doing this out of desperation,” she added.
She said it has been fun and has helped pay off her debt, but Huddleston can’t work tonight because of recent raids.
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control along with the New Orleans Police Department said they uncovered multiple incidents of prostitution, lewd acts and in some cases, illegal drug activity within clubs following an investigation. As a result, clubs lost their liquor license.
Thursday’s raids included Rick's Cabaret, Larry Flynt's Hustler Barely Legal, Stilettos and a male strip club called Hunk Oasis.
"Lewd and lascivious acts or someone touching their breasts in certain ways can be more sexual than other ways and so somebody can interpret it however they want,” Sable Mongold said.
Mongold is another entertainer who thinks current laws make it easy to target strip clubs.
"It hurts us economically, but it doesn't ever yield trafficking, it doesn't ever yield drugs," she said.
Both Mongold and Huddles are now speaking out against the raids as part of a group called the Bourbon Alliance of Responsible Entertainers (BARE).
Mongold and Huddleston are both against anyone breaking the law, but they say that is not what is happening at their establishments.
"These raids don’t make us feel safe,” Huddleston said. “Having law enforcement come into your work place makes you feel like a criminal.”
The ATC has scheduled hearings for the clubs Feb. 1 and Feb. 6.