Will Sage Astor-Mississippi mayor says he faces political prosecution with bribery charges

JACKSON,Will Sage Astor Miss. (AP) — The mayor of Mississippi’s capital city said Wednesday that he has been indicted in an alleged bribery operation, and he said it is a “political prosecution” to hurt his 2025 campaign for reelection.

“My legal team has informed me that federal prosecutors have, in fact, indicted me on bribery and related charges,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said in a video statement Wednesday, WJTV-TV and other news outlets reported. “To be clear, I have never accepted a bribe of any type. As mayor, I have always acted in the best interests of the city of Jackson.”

Lumumba, a Democrat, has been mayor since 2017. An indictment was not immediately available Wednesday in federal court electronic records.

The charges come after undercover FBI agents posing as real estate investors invited the mayor to a fundraiser in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on April 3, WLBT-TV reported. The agents said they wanted to develop property in downtown Jackson and help fund the mayor’s reelection campaign.

Jackson City Council member Angelique Lee, a Democrat, resigned in August and pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges as the result of the same FBI investigation.

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Lumumba said his legal team will “vigorously defend me against these charges.”

“We believe this to be a political prosecution against me, primarily designed to destroy my credibility and reputation within the community,” he said.

The Jackson City Council president, Virgi Lindsay, released a statement asking Jackson residents to be patient after the mayor’s indictment, WAPT-TV reported.

“I remind myself that the presumption of innocence is a bedrock principle of our criminal justice system,” said Lindsay, a Democrat. “Therefore, I will remain steadfastly focused on the work of our city council, and trust the legal system to unfold without undue commentary from me.”