A judge denied a request Friday to release a teenager whose arrest in the beating of a white classmate sparked this week's civil rights protest in Jena.

And Thursday night, police in nearby Alexandria arrested two people after they stopped a red pickup that was traveling through the city with nooses hanging from it.

"I wish we had a charge in Louisiana for aggravated ignorance, because this is a classic case," Alexandria police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said of the incident in his city the same day rallies in support of the Jena Six — the name given to six black teenagers charged in a December incident that left a white teen unconscious and bleeding — were held in Jena. Some supporters used Alexandria as a staging area for the march on Jena.

No immediate bail

The bid by Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, to be freed while an appeal is being reviewed was rejected during a juvenile court hearing Friday, effectively denying him any chance at immediate bail, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because juvenile court proceedings are closed.

Earlier, Bell's mother emerged from the hearing in tears, refusing to comment.

Bell, 17, was convicted of aggravated second-degree battery, which could have led to 15 years in prison. His conviction was thrown out by a state appellate court that said he could not be tried on the charge as an adult. He was 16 at the time of the beating.

"This is why we did not cancel the march," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, an organizer of Thursday's rally along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. "When they overturned Mychal's conviction, everyone said we won."

Jackson said in an interview Friday that federal intervention is needed to protect Bell's rights. Sharpton said he has scheduled meetings in Washington with congressional leaders to discuss the Jena Six case.

Thursday, the case drew thousands of protesters to this tiny central Louisiana town to rally against what they see as a double standard of justice for blacks and whites. The march was one of the biggest civil rights demonstrations in years.

The case dates to August 2006, when a black Jena High student asked the principal whether blacks could sit under a shade tree that was a frequent gathering place for whites. He was told yes. Nooses appeared in the tree the next day.

Three white students were suspended but not criminally prosecuted. LaSalle District Attorney Reed Walters has said he could find no state law covering the act.

The incident was followed by fights between blacks and whites that culminated in the attack on Justin Barker, who was knocked unconscious on school grounds. According to court testimony, his face was swollen and bloodied but he was able to attend a school function that night.

Five of the teens were originally charged with attempted second-degree murder — a charge that has since been reduced for four of them. The sixth was booked as a juvenile on sealed charges.

Attempt to remove judge fails

Friday's hearing on whether Bell should be released was preceded by another closed hearing in which defense lawyers sought to remove Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. from Bell's case. That proceeding also was secret.

But John Jenkins, father of one of Bell's co-defendants, said state District Judge Tom Yeager refused to remove Mauffray.

Defense lawyers have complained that Mauffray set a high bail for Bell — $90,000 — prior to his conviction in the Barker beating. Mauffray had cited Bell's criminal record, which included juvenile arrests for battery and damage to property, in setting the bail. Bell had been unable to raise the needed bail money and the bail was nullified once he was convicted.

More nooses reported

Nooses also were at the center of the arrests Thursday night in Alexandria.

One of the suspects in that case is a juvenile who told police that he and some of his relatives are members of the Ku Klux Klan and that he has a "KKK" tattoo on his chest, according to Alexandria police.

Jeremiah Munsen, 18, of Colfax, who was driving the truck, was charged with one count each of driving while intoxicated, inciting to riot and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, according to the police report.

The passenger, a 16-year-old from Dry Prong who has a prior conviction of burglary, was charged with underage drinking and probation violation, Alexandria Police Chief Daren Coutee said. The juvenile also might be charged with committing criminal mischief, the police chief said.

"This might go a lot further than anticipated. We are looking into the juvenile."

The truck was stopped by police after complaints from a group of Jena Six protesters from Tennessee who saw the vehicle displaying the nooses as they were waiting to board a charter bus to leave Alexandria about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.

The juvenile told police he had fashioned the two nooses, made from extension cords, that were hanging from the truck's bed rail.

An unloaded .22-caliber rifle, belonging to Munsen, was found wrapped in a blanket behind the seat in the truck, police reported. Also found in the truck were a set of brass knuckles, which the juvenile told police belonged to him, and beer, the report states.

When an officer asked if he could search the truck, Munsen said, "Go ahead, knock yourself out," according to the police report.

Some people in a crowd near the scene saw a second truck with a noose hanging from it, the report states, but that truck could not be found.

Mayor responds in pajamas

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy said he was home in his pajamas and rushed to the bus station without changing his clothes when he received a telephone call about the incident.

Roy said he felt it was important to engage the crowd so the visitors wouldn't leave with a bad impression of Alexandria after a day of peaceful protests.

"They left here with the best sense of our community and were happy to know that it wasn't an Alexandria citizen (who hung the nooses). I think they felt really good about our city at the end of the day. That was our mission, and I think we succeeded."

Speaking from Jena, King Downing, national coordinator of the American Civil Liberties Union's campaign against racial profiling, said the nooses are indicative of problems with central Louisiana.

"If the reports are true, then it should confirm to all of the people paying attention to this area exactly what the problem is. People attempting to riot around people peacefully protesting, as is their constitutional right, it is a sign that something is wrong."

John Jenkins, father of Jena Six member Carwin Jones, said it was right for the proper authorities to handle the matter. "People do what they want to do, (law enforcement) need to do something and stick to the laws. I will let the law handle it," he said from Jena.

Munsen was being held in the Rapides Parish Jail in lieu of a bond of $1,670. The juvenile was being held in Renaissance Home for Youth, police said.