JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The mayor of Mississippi's capital city, the top prosecutor in the state's largest county and a Jackson City Council member have been indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges in a case that has already forced the resignation of another city council member, according to federal court records unsealed Thursday.
The charges against Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and council member Aaron B. Banks were brought after two people working for the FBI posed as real estate developers who wanted to build a hotel near the convention center in downtown Jackson and provided payments to officials, including $50,000 for the mayor’s reelection campaign, according to court documents.
Lumumba, Jody Owens and Banks each pleaded not guilty Thursday during an appearance before a magistrate judge, with supporters of the mayor filling the small courtroom. The three men will remain free while awaiting trial.
Outside the courthouse, Lumumba said he is grateful to people who have reached out to him locally, nationally and internationally.
“I am not guilty, and so I will not proceed as a guilty man,” Lumumba said. “I will continue to handle the business of the city of Jackson while my attorneys continue to handle the business of these court proceedings.”
The mayor released a video statement Wednesday saying the indictment is a “political prosecution” to hurt his 2025 campaign for reelection. He also said: “I have never accepted a bribe of any type.”
Owens told reporters outside the courthouse Thursday that the indictment is “a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and “an assassination attempt on my character.”
“We think the truth has to come out, that cherry-picked statements of drunken, locker-room banter is not a crime,” Owens said. He said he will fight the charges, “but right now, I'm going to get back to protecting Hinds County and being the district attorney that you've elected us to be.”
Banks declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse.
Lumumba and Banks were elected in mid-2017. Owens was elected in 2019 and took office in 2020. All three are Democrats.
Jackson City Council member Angelique Lee, a Democrat, first elected in 2020, resigned in August and pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as the result of the same FBI investigation. Her sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13.
In May, FBI agents raided Owens' office and a cigar bar he owns in downtown Jackson. Among the items found in the district attorney's office was a lockbox made to look like a book labeled as the U.S. Constitution, containing about $20,000 in cash, with about $9,900 showing serial numbers confirming it was paid by the purported developers to Owens, according to the newly unsealed indictment.
Owens boasted to the purported developers about having influence over Jackson officials and “facilitated over $80,000 in bribe payments” to Lumumba, Banks and Lee in exchange for their agreement to ensure approval of the multimillion-dollar downtown development, according to the indictment.
The document also says Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits” from the purported developers to use his relationships with Lumumba, Banks and Lee and act as an intermediary for the payments to them.
Lumumba directed a city employee to move a deadline to favor the purported developers’ project, and Banks and Lee agreed to vote in favor of it, according to the indictments unsealed Thursday.
Sherik Marve Smith — who is an insurance broker and a relative of Owens, according to court documents — waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge in the case on Oct. 17. He agreed to forfeit $20,000, and his sentencing is set for Feb. 19.
Smith conspired to give cash payments and campaign contributions to two Jackson elected officials, and the money came from the purported developers who were working for the FBI, according to court documents.
Owens, Lumumba, Smith and the purported developers traveled in April on a private jet paid by the FBI to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the newly unsealed indictment.
During a meeting on a yacht that was recorded on audio and video, Lumumba received five campaign checks for $10,000 each, and he called a Jackson city employee and instructed that person to move a deadline for submission of proposals to develop the property near the convention center, the indictment says.
The deadline was moved in a way to benefit the purported developers who were working for the FBI by likely eliminating any of their competition, the indictment says.
FILE - Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba watches a debate at the Mississippi Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are coasting to the close of their best week in a year with some modest moves on Friday.
The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in afternoon trading and on track for its biggest weekly gain since early November 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 244 points, or 0.6%, as of 1:24 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually unchanged.
The relatively quiet trading follows big gains and more records for indexes earlier in the week after Donald Trump won the presidential election and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again to make things easier for the economy.
Axon Enterprise, which sells Tasers and body cameras used by police officers, helped lead the market. It jumped 25.9% after delivering stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also raised its revenue forecast for the full year to $2.07 billion, which would mean 32% growth.
Expedia Group rose 6.1% after likewise topping profit expectations. It said booked room nights rose 9% from a year earlier.
Helping to keep the market in check was Airbnb, which sank 8% after the online vacation rental platform posted a mixed third-quarter earnings report and issued forecasts for the fourth quarter that disappointed investors.
Digital pinboard and shopping site Pinterest slid 17.4% after the company’s revenue guidance came in lower than investors expected, even as it easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets.
In the bond market, longer-term Treasury yields eased.
A preliminary report in the morning suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers rose for a fourth straight month to its highest level in six months. The survey from the University of Michigan, which was conducted before Tuesday's election, also said expectations for inflation in the coming year eased to the lowest level since 2020.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.30% from 4.33% late Thursday. But it’s still well above where it was in mid-September, when it was close to 3.60%.
Treasury yields climbed in large part because the U.S. economy has remained much more resilient than feared. The hope is that it can continue to stay solid as the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates in order to keep the job market humming, now that it’s helped get inflation nearly down to its 2% target.
Some of the rise in yields has also been because of Trump. He talks up tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation and the U.S. government’s debt higher, along with the economy’s growth.
Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.
In stock markets abroad, Trump’s talk about tariffs has raised worries about possible trade tensions and disruptions to the global economy.
European indexes were mostly lower and on track for a losing week.
Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as investors awaited much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy following a meeting of the legislature’s Standing Committee. Officials announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion), three-year plan to help local governments refinance their many trillions of debt that has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse of the property market.
Financial markets worldwide have swung sharply as investors lay bets on what Trump's plans for higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation could mean for the global economy. But many professional investors have also urged caution, saying snaps back in prices could occur as it becomes more clear what proposals will become policy versus just negotiating starting points.
U.S. banks and the stocks of more domestically focused companies have seen some of the wildest moves, as some of the poster children of the “Trump trade.” The stock that’s become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, rose 15.6% Thursday and is on track for a gain this week.
AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed to this report.
Specialist Mike Pistillo, left and trader Peter Tuchman wear "S&P 6000" hats on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Michael Capolinoi works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader William Lovesick, left, and specialist James Denaro work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell news conference in Washington is displayed on a monitor. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear on a bank of screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the Federal Reserve interest rate decision, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Tokyo Stock Price index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
