By 1935, Long's most recent consolidation of personal power led to talk of armed opposition from his enemies in Louisiana.
Opponents increasingly invoked the memory of the Battle of Liberty Place of 1874, in which the White League staged an uprising against Louisiana's Reconstruction-era government.
In January 1935, an anti-Long paramilitary organization called the Square Deal Association was formed.
Its members included former governors John M. Parker and Ruffin G. Pleasant and New Orleans Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley.

On January 25, 1935, armed Square Dealers took over the courthouse of East Baton Rouge Parish.
Long had Governor Allen call out the National Guard, declare martial law, ban public gatherings of two or more persons, and forbid the publication of criticism of state officials.
The Square Dealers left the courthouse, but there was a brief armed skirmish at the Baton Rouge Airport.
Tear gas and live ammunition were fired; one person was wounded but there were no fatalities.

In the summer of 1935, Long called for two more special sessions of the legislature; bills were passed in rapid-fire succession without being read or discussed.
The new laws further centralized Long's control over the state by creating several new Long-appointed state agencies: a state bond and tax board holding sole authority to approve all loans to parish and municipal governments, a new state printing board which could withhold "official printer" status from uncooperative newspapers, a new board of election supervisors which would appoint all poll watchers, and a State Board of Censors.
They also stripped away the remaining lucrative powers of the mayor of New Orleans, to cripple the entrenched opposition.
Long boasted that he had "taken over every board and commission in New Orleans except the Community Chest and the Red Cross."

Long had previously acknowledged the possibility of his own death, reportedly even having a morbid fascination with it.
In a 1935 speech, he claimed that his political enemies had a plot to kill him with "one man, one gun, one bullet."
Long also sensationally claimed that Chicago gangsters were trying to kill him.
His own right-hand-man Gerald L. K. Smith declared that "the only way they will keep Huey Long from the White House is to kill him."
In spring 1935, one of the last office-holding Long opponents in Louisiana warned, "I am not gifted with second sight. …
But I can see blood on the polished floor of this Capitol.
For if you ride this thing through, you will travel with the white horse of death."
By 1935, Long's most recent consolidation of personal power led to talk of armed opposition from his enemies in Louisiana. Opponents increasingly invoked the memory of the Battle of Liberty Place of 1874, in which the White League staged an uprising against Louisiana's Reconstruction-era government. In January 1935, an anti-Long paramilitary organization called the Square Deal Association was formed. Its members included former governors John M. Parker and Ruffin G. Pleasant and New Orleans Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley.
On January 25, 1935, armed Square Dealers took over the courthouse of East Baton Rouge Parish. Long had Governor Allen call out the National Guard, declare martial law, ban public gatherings of two or more persons, and forbid the publication of criticism of state officials. The Square Dealers left the courthouse, but there was a brief armed skirmish at the Baton Rouge Airport. Tear gas and live ammunition were fired; one person was wounded but there were no fatalities.
In the summer of 1935, Long called for two more special sessions of the legislature; bills were passed in rapid-fire succession without being read or discussed. The new laws further centralized Long's control over the state by creating several new Long-appointed state agencies: a state bond and tax board holding sole authority to approve all loans to parish and municipal governments, a new state printing board which could withhold "official printer" status from uncooperative newspapers, a new board of election supervisors which would appoint all poll watchers, and a State Board of Censors. They also stripped away the remaining lucrative powers of the mayor of New Orleans, to cripple the entrenched opposition. Long boasted that he had "taken over every board and commission in New Orleans except the Community Chest and the Red Cross."
Long had previously acknowledged the possibility of his own death, reportedly even having a morbid fascination with it. In a 1935 speech, he claimed that his political enemies had a plot to kill him with "one man, one gun, one bullet." Long also sensationally claimed that Chicago gangsters were trying to kill him. His own right-hand-man Gerald L. K. Smith declared that "the only way they will keep Huey Long from the White House is to kill him." In spring 1935, one of the last office-holding Long opponents in Louisiana warned, "I am not gifted with second sight. … But I can see blood on the polished floor of this Capitol. For if you ride this thing through, you will travel with the white horse of death."
Huey Long