Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former City Council member Aaron Banks on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a federal corruption case that rocked Mississippi’s capital city.

Their pleas come a week after Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens made a similar plea in the case and a week before Lumumba and Banks were set to go to trial.

A federal grand jury indicted Lumumba, Owens and Banks in 2024 on multiple charges.

On Monday, Lumumba pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering, with Banks pleading guilty to one count conspiracy to commit bribery. They face penalties of up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and the government on Monday said it will be requesting restitution.

Sentencing for the three has been tentatively set for Oct. 15, and they will remain out of jail until then.

As Lumumba left the packed courtroom, some of his supporters placed their hands on their chests. Wiping tears from his eyes, he received hugs from his friends and family members. Outside the courthouse, the former mayor was swarmed by reporters as he was ushered to his car. He declined to comment, but lawyers from the National Conference of Black Lawyers defended his legacy and said the case reflected “double standards.”

“For all his supporters out here, as you can see, the legacy has not been tarnished,” said attorney Jaribu Hill. “What’s been tarnished, if anything, is the ongoing facade of justice.”

Lumumba’s prosecution was the continuation of a long history of Black elected officials facing disproportionate scrutiny, the attorneys said.

“Today’s proceedings mark the conclusion of one chapter in Mayor Lumumba’s legal journey, but they do not end the larger national conversation about equal administration of justice,” said Mawuli Davis, an attorney for the national group. “Mayor Lumumba accepted accountability for the count before the court today. That decision should not obscure the broader historical reality that Black elected officials have too often exercised leadership under a level of prosecutorial scrutiny and political pressure that is neither equally applied nor equally experienced.”

Banks, accompanied by his father and wife, did not address reporters as he left the federal courthouse.

The three officials served as Democrats. Lumumba was mayor from 2017 until mid-2025, when he lost his bid for reelection. Lumumba had vowed to transform Jackson into “the most radical city on the planet.” 

Owens was first elected in 2019 as the top prosecutor in Mississippi’s largest county. A self-proclaimed “progressive prosecutor,” he had run with national support. He resigned when he pleaded guilty last week. 

Banks served as Ward 6 councilman from 2017 to 2025, representing south Jackson. A political organizer, he started working for the city during Lumumba’s father’s mayoral administration in 2013.

The pleadings prevent what was a highly anticipated trial from taking place, meaning the public will not see the full extent of the federal investigation into Jackson.

Owens had planned to argue the federal government entrapped him. Banks had intended to argue his innocence at trial, according to court documents, while Lumumba primarily contended in court filings that he did not take an “official action” in exchange for bribes from agents posing as developers.

The Mississippi Bar Association on Monday asked the state Supreme Court to immediately suspend Owens from practicing law because of his guilty plea.

READ MORE: Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pleads guilty to conspiracy

Beginning as early as 2023, two undercover FBI agents posed as real estate developers in a sting that mimicked operations the federal authorities have brought in other cities. The two agents sought to build a convention center hotel in downtown Jackson on a plot of land the city had previously obtained a federal loan to develop.

Prosecutors allege the scheme worked like this: The agents, purporting to represent a company called Facility Solutions Team, funneled money through an unsuspecting Owens to Lumumba and Banks, who were then supposed to help the developers secure the city’s approval to use federal funds to build a downtown convention center hotel. 

In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that Lumumba accepted $50,000 in campaign donations in exchange for assisting the developers in obtaining the city’s blessing. 

The indictment alleges that while Lumumba was on a yacht off the coast of Florida, he discussed the payment Owens was going to give him on behalf of the developers. Then he placed a call asking a city employee to shorten the bid window for the hotel development. 

Lumumba, 43, described this action as “ministerial at best,” according to court documents, thus not in line with how federal law and the courts have defined an official action a public official must take as part of a quid pro quo. 

Two others had already pleaded guilty in the scheme: Another former City Council member, Angelique Lee, and Owens’ cousin and associate, Sherik “Marve” Smith, who pleaded to acting as a go-between for the district attorney with both Lumumba and Banks.

Federal investigators were drawn to Jackson as early as 2022 after years of public accusations of corruption among its leaders. In just one instance, a city councilmember wrote the U.S. Attorney’s Office asking them to investigate Lumumba while he was mayor. 

Unlike his co-defendants, Banks, 48, did not agree to the government’s best offer, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, Dave Fulcher, told the judge. Banks’ previous offer would have required him to cooperate with the federal government, a difference his court-appointed lawyer, Carlos Tanner, described as “only technical.” 

Banks made the decision to plead after Owens took the plea agreement last week.

The courtroom was standing-room-only for Lumumba’s plea. His head was bowed as Fulcher read out the facts that he said the government would have proven at trial. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III asked the former mayor if he agreed with the facts the prosecutor described.

“I accept the facts that he just said,” Lumumba responded.

The judge paused and reiterated his question.

“I agree,” Lumumba said.

Update, 7/6/2026: This story has been updated to add information about former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Councilman Aaron Banks pleading guilty.