Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba filed a motion to dismiss federal bribery charges, but most of the documents in the case are under restricted access after the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked the judge to limit public filings, court records show.
The restriction followed a motion to dismiss filed by co-defendant Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens that included hundreds of pages of material, including grand jury testimony, photographs of undercover FBI agents and investigative documents, according to court filings. U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan imposed the limits so the parties could review and propose redactions, the filings say.
The indictment alleges Lumumba accepted $50,000 in campaign checks from Owens and FBI agents posing as developers during what he believed was a campaign fundraiser on a yacht off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and then placed a phone call to move a city bidding deadline, prosecutors wrote in court papers. Grand jury testimony attached to the filings and obtained earlier by Mississippi Today shows an FBI agent testified that Lumumba deposited the checks into a campaign account and later wrote a $9,500 check to himself for campaign expenses and a $5,000 check for an “Atlanta Film Crew,” the testimony shows.
Lumumba and former Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks have asked to sever their trials from Owens’, the filings show. Owens’ motion argues FBI agents “entrapped” him, including by providing alcohol while knowing he is a diagnosed alcoholic, according to his filing. The government has filed motions to preclude certain defenses and to exclude evidence about the merits of the defendants’ official acts, prosecutors wrote.
Matt Steffey, a professor at Mississippi College School of Law, said the government’s filings seek to prevent jury nullification by keeping jurors from being swamped with evidence of the defendants’ public service. “The public official’s whole career isn’t on trial, just the corrupt acts,” Steffey said. He also questioned whether the alleged phone call amounted to an executable official act if no contract was awarded, saying jurors could conclude it did not warrant federal prison.
The case is slated for trial in July, according to court scheduling. Lumumba initially called the indictment a “political prosecution” when it became public in 2024 but has since said he will not comment on the case. A local attorney for Lumumba, Thomas Bellinder, did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment, according to the reporter.
