JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Bribery and conspiracy charges against the mayor are the latest shock to Mississippi's capital, where a federally appointed official is running the water system after it nearly collapsed and state police are patrolling parts of the majority-Black city because of white legislators' concerns about crime. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and two other Democratic elected officials — Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and Jackson City Council member Aaron B.
Banks — pleaded not guilty to federal charges Thursday. They will remain free while awaiting trial in a case tied to the proposed development of a long-vacant downtown property. “I am not guilty, and so I will not proceed as a guilty man,” said the mayor, who is seeking a third term in 2025.
Lumumba is Black and has described himself as a “radical” who is “uncomfortable with oppressive conditions.” Both he and his sister, Rukia Lumumba, say they believe he is facing a political prosecution, even with the Justice Department still being led by a Democratic administration. “First Trump wins, now they are trying to indict my brother,” Rukia Lumumba posted on Facebook.
“As Spike Lee says, WAKE UP! They come for the best of us because we are threatening their power.” Distrust of government runs deep in Jackson, from people who say the state has blocked efforts to help the city and those who say the city has stumbled in providing basic services. City Council member Kenneth Stok.