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NESHOBA COUNTY FAIR — Gov. Tate Reeves and attorney Brad Pigott agree on one thing: that Pigott was dismissed from overseeing the state’s lawsuit to recoup millions of dollars stolen or misspent in the Mississippi welfare fraud scandal because of politics.

Pigott said it was because he was looking into the roles of former Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, the USM Athletic Foundation and other powerful and connected people or entities Reeves and others didn’t want him looking at.

Reeves on Thursday said he signed off on firing Pigott because the attorney wasn’t up to the task, had a “political agenda” and wanted to be in the media spotlight.

“I think the way in which (Pigott) … has acted since they chose not to renew his contract shows exactly why many of us were concerned about the way in which he conducted himself in the year in which he was employed,” Reeves said at the Neshoba County Fair. “He seemed much more focused on the political side of things. He seemed much more interested in getting his name in print and hopefully bigger and bigger print, not just Mississippi stories. He wants this to go national, wants to talk to the press.”

Reeves’ welfare director initially said Pigott was dismissed in part because officials were blindsided by Pigott’s subpoena of the USM foundation communication. But emails obtained by Mississippi Today showed the agency and the state AG’s office were given drafts of the subpoena 10 days before he filed it.

READ MORE: Welfare head says surprise subpoena led to attorney’s firing. Emails show it wasn’t a surprise.

Pigott is a former federal prosecutor who was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi by former President Bill Clinton. As a prosecutor, Pigott led cases that took down the Dixie Mafia organized crime syndicate in Mississippi. In 2021, Pigott came out of retirement to lead the Mississippi Department of Human Services’ civil lawsuit seeking to recover a portion of the $77 million in stolen, misspent or unaccounted federal welfare dollars.

There are also state and federal criminal investigations pending in the case.

Pigott was fired a week after he filed subpoenas on the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation over $5 million in welfare dollars spent on a volleyball stadium. Pigott was seeking communications between the USM foundation, Bryant, Bryant’s wife, Deborah, and former NFL star Brett Favre involving the stadium.

Pigott declined comment on Reeves’ statements Thursday. But he has said he was fired on orders from Reeves to protect the USM Athletic Foundation. The foundation is comprised of many business and political leaders, including many large donors to Reeves’ campaign coffers. And repaying the welfare money spent on the volleyball stadium would be a big blow to USM athletics.

Reeves said the USM foundation or others might eventually be named in the state’s lawsuit, but that Pigott got out over his skis with the subpoenas. He said the state is focused primarily on suing to recover funds specifically tagged as fraud, waste or abuse by a forensic audit firm the state hired.

That audit firm noted in its reports to the state that it might have identified more fraud, waste and abuse if it had not been limited in what and who it could examine in its probe.

Reeves said that typically, civil lawsuits to claw back stolen money come after criminal investigation and prosecution is concluded. But he said criminal investigations are ongoing by the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, Health and Human Services fraud investigators and others. Reeves said that, as for the state’s lawsuit to claw back money, if more fraud by more entities is uncovered, “they will be sued at the proper time,” and that Pigott’s dismissal will not affect that.

“The Department of Justice has 100,000 people working for them,” Reeves said. “Do you actually think that one lawyer (Pigott) who is a sole practitioner that is semi-retired will thwart the investigation here? They are totally and completely separate, and any accusation otherwise is all about getting clicks on the internet and not finding out the truth. My job as governor is to make sure taxpayers are protected. What the attorney in question here has proven is that he is interested not in what’s best for the state, but in getting his name in print or on the computer.”

State Auditor Shad White’s office first discovered welfare misspending and brought the first charges in the case more than two years ago. On Thursday at the Neshoba Fair, White reiterated his take that firing Pigott was a mistake that could shake the public’s confidence that the case is being thoroughly investigated and all responsible will be held accountable.

White, a former staffer and campaign manager for Bryant, has faced his own questions about his ties to the former governor and whether he would thoroughly investigate his former boss.

“What I said was that I think firing (Pigott) was a mistake,” White said. “From the very beginning of the DHS case, my position was that it is important to have a bipartisan group look at the case, and a variety of prosecutors and law enforcement entities, because we need to give the public confidence we are getting to the bottom of the case and looking at every single charge available and every single person. That’s one of many reasons I took the case initially to Hinds County DA Jody Owens, a Democrat.”

“My whole mission right now is to do my job well, fully investigate this and work with the FBI,” White said. “We have been working with them every single day. I’ve been on the phone again with them this week.”

White said he thinks Pigott’s subpoenas for USM foundation, Phil Bryant and other communications “makes sense,” and he said he will make sure his investigators and the FBI have any such documents and communications for their investigations.

As for potential involvement of his former boss Bryant — issues raised by text messages obtained by Mississippi Today — White said: “I’ve made very plain from the very beginning, we are going to do our job in this case and it doesn’t matter who you are talking about whether Brett Favre or the janitor down at DHS, we are going to do our jobs on this case and that’s what I’m focused on.”

White said, “I was sick to my stomach every time we would look at something that showed that money was misspent in a different way.”

White said his office uncovered all the aspects of the case that are still the center of attention and said in his speech at the fair that he won’t pull punches on the politically connected or celebrities.

The post Gov. Tate Reeves says ousted welfare scandal lawyer had ‘political agenda,’ wanted media spotlight appeared first on Mississippi Today.

NESHOBA COUNTY FAIR — Attorney General Lynn Fitch told Neshoba County fairgoers that God chose a Mississippi case to be the catalyst to overturn the national right to an abortion.

“God selected us,” Fitch said on Thursday, referring to the Supreme Court decision in late June overturning Roe v. Wade. “We were chosen to go before the United States Supreme Court.

“God selected the Mississippi case. God put us in this position.”

Numerous politicians on Thursday during the second day of the political speakings on a hot and humid day at the historic Neshoba County Fair evoked God, particularly as it related to the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That landmark case, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court by Fitch’s office, led to the overturning of a national right to an abortion. Fitch received a rousing ovation at the end of her speech under the tin-roof Founders Square Pavilion.

Fitch and multiple other statewide officials who spoke at the Neshoba County Fair said their next focus is to ensure the mothers and children impacted by the reversal of Roe v. Wade have the support they need.

But they offered few specifics. Even before the reversal of Roe, the state already had the nation’s highest infant mortality rate and the most children per capita living in poverty.

Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn pointed out that the Legislature provided $3.5 million in tax credits to help support 37 pregnancy crisis centers across the state. Both Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, have formed or will form special committees to further study the issue. They have referenced continuing efforts to improve the state’s long-beleaguered foster care system and said changes in law are needed to make adoptions easier.

But other than Hosemann, no officeholder has endorsed any specific policy that would accomplish the shared goal of helping mothers and children. Earlier this year, Hosemann was among several Senate Republicans who supported extending Medicaid coverage for one year for mothers after giving birth. According to Reeves, 70% of all women giving birth in Mississippi are on Medicaid, but under state law that coverage only lasts 60 days.

When asked about whether the state should expand postpartum coverage on Thursday, Fitch at first mistakenly responded that she couldn’t talk about the issue because it was “pending litigation.” After it was pointed out that no pending litigation existed on the topic, she then said her office would not push for the policy change, but would uphold whatever law may be passed in the future by lawmakers.

House Speaker Philip Gunn said he would consider providing postpartum coverage if the Division of Medicaid, overseen by Reeves, said it was needed.

Reeves did not answer when asked after his fiery speech whether he would support expanding postpartum coverage.

READ MORE: Doctors asked Speaker Philip Gunn to extend health coverage for moms and babies. Then he blocked it.

Andy Gipson, the commissioner of Department of Agriculture and Commerce, previously served in the state House and played a key role in passing the law that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

When asked after his speech whether he would support an expansion of postpartum coverage, Gipson said he supported private insurance. When it was pointed out that Mississippi had the nation’s highest infant mortality rate, Gipson’s wife, Leslie, who was listening, offered the possibility of a correlation between the high infant mortality rate and the state’s vaccine mandates for infants.

“It is worth looking at,” Gipson concurred, declining to cite any scientific data that suggests such a correlation exists. Gipson, who said he intends to run for re-election, touted what he said was the state’s conservative principles.

Gipson, Gunn and Reeves spoke of national Democrats trying to replace God with their liberal agenda.

“We will never stop fighting for our traditional values,” Reeves said. “We will never stop fighting for our way of life.”

Reeves said national liberal Democrats are working to “have drag shows and teach critical race theory” in the public schools. He was referencing the efforts on the national level to ensure people with different sexual identities or orientations are not discriminated against and of efforts in some schools to teach the impact racism has had on the history of the country.

Among the accomplishments that Gunn cited for the House under his Republican leadership was legislation enacted into law to give businesses the right not to serve same sex couples based on religious principles.

They also took aim at people who they claimed were not working and were receiving taxpayer dollars.

“We believe all able-bodied folks ought to get off the couch and go to work,” Gipson said to rousing applause. He said taxpayers should not subsidize people who will not work.

“This is why we oppose Medicaid expansion,” said Gipson, ignoring studies that indicate most of the people who receive health care coverage — and no cash benefits — from Medicaid expansion are the working poor.

Of course, those nuances were not addressed Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair, where both the political speeches and the weather were hot.

READ MORE: After lawmakers go home without extending postpartum Medicaid, six moms speak out

The post GOP politicians embrace God but shun Medicaid postpartum coverage at Neshoba appeared first on Mississippi Today.

When the City of Jackson asked residents to conserve water in late June, it stated that the water department was “anticipating increased water demand as a result of the higher than average temperatures forecast for the next several days.”

Since then, state health department officials clarified that mechanical issues at the plant were the primary reason for the conservation advisory, not the heat. Jackson officials said they issued the advisory because of a recommendation from the health department.

“Heat was not the primary reason for the recommendation,” Mississippi State Department of Health spokesperson Liz Sharlot said in an e-mail. “We have this type of weather every summer. If it was about the heat, the entire state would be affected.”

While initially the city didn’t provide a timetable for how long residents should conserve water, Jackson officials told Mississippi Today on Wednesday that the advisory will “continue during the summer months.”

The city issued the conservation advisory on June 21, three days before it issued a city-wide boil water noticed that lasted for two weeks. Both notices came after the city was forced to lower water pressure because of an ammonia leak and issues with the membrane filters at the O.B. Curtis water treatment plant.

MSDH issued another city-wide boil water notice due to high turbidity when operators used too much lime in the treatment process. Both boil water notices have since been lifted.

City of Jackson spokesperson Justin Vicory echoed that mechanical issues led to the conservation advisory, but added that “higher than average water use” because of the heat was a contributing factor.

“The state Department of Health made the recommendation,” he wrote in an e-mail. “A second recommendation from (MSDH) suggested we issue a boil water notice after the conservation advisory. That advisory was issued with the hope it would reduce ongoing water pressure issues at the plant.”

At the time the advisory was issued, only three of the six membrane trains at O.B. Curtis — part of the plant’s filtering system — were online. But, as of Wednesday, five of the filters were running, city officials said.

Mechanical issues at the O.B. Curtis treatment plant, including the membrane filters, have been a regular issue for the city, including when a winter storm shut down Jackson’s water system in early 2021.

As part of the conservation advisory, the city is asking residents to do the following:

• Do not water lawns between 7 A.M. to 7 P.M.

• Do not wash down sidewalks, driveways, etc.

• Refrain from washing cars

• Reduce draining and refilling of swimming pools

• Only wash full loads of clothes and dishes

• Take showers instead of baths

The post City of Jackson, health department clarify water conservation advisory appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Today investigative reporter Anna Wolfe, who has closely covered the state’s welfare scandal for more than three years, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday morning to discuss a dramatic new development in the case.

WATCH: Wolfe’s full MSNBC interview about the Mississippi welfare scandal

(Note: Skip to the 16:15 mark to watch welfare scandal segment)

Wolfe was asked about the abrupt firing of Brad Pigott, the attorney hired by the state’s welfare department to recoup tens of millions in stolen welfare funds — money intended to help the state’s poorest residents but instead benefitted friends of welfare officials and celebrities.

Pigott, a former U.S. attorney and Democrat who had recently subpoenaed the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation for communications it had with former Gov. Phil Bryant and NFL legend Brett Favre, said his firing was politically motivated. Pigott said political operatives in current Gov. Tate Reeves’ office were behind the firing, which has spurred questions of a cover-up in the ongoing case.

Wolfe also discussed Bryant’s role in the scheme, which has become a public focus following Wolfe’s “The Backchannel” investigation. On Wednesday, Mississippi Today broke news that Bryant has been subpoenaed for records regarding the biggest purchase of the welfare scheme — a $5 million volleyball center at University of Southern Mississippi, the former governor’s alma mater.

READ MORE: Mississippi Today’s full “The Backchannel” investigation and coverage

The post Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe discusses welfare scandal on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: On Saturday night, July 30, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2022. What follows is Part VII of a series detailing the achievements of the eight inductees, today featuring basketball’s Kermit Davis Sr.

Kermit Davis Sr. has been so much a part of significant Mississippi basketball history, it makes you wonder why this 86-year-old man was never inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame before this Saturday night.

Just to hit the highlights:

• Kermit Sr. played high school basketball in his tiny hometown of Walnut and led the Walnut Wildcats to the Grand Slam state championship, defeating much larger Forest Hill High in the finals in 1955.  It was a Mississippi version of the movie “Hoosiers” with Kermit Sr. scoring 27 points a game and playing the Magnolia State version of Jimmy Chitwood.
• That same year he played in the very first Mississippi High School Basketball All-Star Game.
• When the legendary Babe McCarthy signed on to coach Mississippi State, his first recruit was Kermit Davis Sr.
• When McCarthy asked Davis if he knew of any taller players who might could help State, Davis replied, “You might want to talk to this guy I played junior high ball with. His name is Bailey Howell. He’s up in Tennessee.”
• Kermit Sr. coached Tupelo High to consecutive Big Eight Conference and Grand Slam championships in 1965-66. His Tupelo teams won 131 games and lost only 23 and finished the remarkable 1966 season with a remarkable 40-1 record. When Tupelo defeated Pelahatchie for the Grand Slam title in 1966 the overflow crowd at Mississippi Coliseum was the largest basketball crowd in state history, high school or college.
• In 1970-71, his first season as head coach at Mississippi State, he earned Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year honors, the same honor his son, Kermit Jr., would win 48 years later at Ole Miss.

The story of how Kermit Davis Sr. became McCarthy’s first recruit is worth retelling. Davis was playing in a tournament at Baldwyn, McCarthy’s hometown, when he bumped into McCarthy, a former high school coach who was officiating at the time. Davis remembers the conversation this way:

McCarthy: “Nice game tonight, Davis. By the way, have you decided where you want to play college basketball?”

Davis: “Probably either Memphis State or Ole Miss. Probably gonna go play for Country Graham at Ole Miss.”

McCarthy: “You might want to think about that. I happen to know who the next coach at Mississippi State is going to be, and I also happen to know that he is really interested in you.”

Davis: “Yeah, who is that?”

McCarthy: “Me.”

Not long after, Dudy Noble, the State athletic director at the time, hired McCarthy. McCarthy subsequently signed Davis and later Howell. The Bulldogs won 79 games and lost only 16 during Davis’s college career. Davis will tell you that was mostly because of Bailey Howell. And he is right. Howell averaged 27 points and 17 rebounds for his college career. But many of those baskets came on assists from Davis.

As head coach at State, Davis recruited and coached two future first round NBA draft picks in Ricky Brown and Wiley Peck. Davis also played a major role in helping to raise the money to construct Humphrey Coliseum.

He became the associate director of State’s Bulldog Club in 1980 and helped raise money to expand Scott Field, the school’s tennis facility, the track and field facility and Dudy Noble Field. All those facilities were entirely funded by private contributions raised by the Bulldog Club during the 1980s.

Although he says he still bleeds maroon, Kermit Sr. has been a fixture in recent years at Ole Miss basketball games, pulling for his son’s Rebels. Kermit Jr. grew up a gym rat attending the practices of his father’s teams at Tupelo and Mississippi State. Kermit Jr. who majored in business as a walk-on student-athlete at State, says he never considered being anything other than a coach like his dad.

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” Kermit Jr. says. 

And what did he take from watching his dad’s practices and games. X’s and O’s?

“Not really so much the X’s and O’s,” Kermit Jr. replies. “What I learned watching Dad was how he handled and treated people – not just his players and assistant coaches. I’m talking about the time he spent and the way he treated everybody, including the people who swept the floors. He enjoys people so much and he knew how to treat them. That’s what made him the coach he was and man he is.”

•••

Part I: Maggie Bowen-Hanna.

Part II: Eric Moulds.

Part III: Jim Gallagher.

Part IV: Bob Tyler.

Part V: Barry Lyons

Part VI: David Dellucci

For MSHOF Induction Weekend event and ticket information, click here. 

The post Before Hoosiers and Chitwood, there were Walnut and Kermit Davis Sr. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Months after a lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging the Jackson Police Department’s roadblock program violates drivers’ constitutional rights and disproportionately affects people from Black and low-income neighborhoods, attorneys from the Mississippi Center for Justice and the City of Jackson are working toward a resolution. 

Settlement negotiations have been active since early March, shortly after the center filed the class action lawsuit, said Mississippi Center for Justice attorney Paloma Wu, who is also deputy director of the George Riley Impact Litigation Initiative. 

The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi against the City of Jackson and Police Chief James Davis, has not gone before a judge yet. 

The four plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Black, white and mixed race. Although they are not in the room during the discussions, they are offering potential ways to mitigate harm from the checkpoints, Wu said. 

Jackson police calls the roadblock program “Ticket Arrest Tow.” Since the beginning of the year, they have been used around the city to check if drivers have valid licenses, insurance and registration. 

Police officials have said the roadblocks also allow officers to see if a driver has an active warrant.

“Our intent is to get wanted individuals off the streets,” court records document Davis saying to reporters on Feb. 18.  “We are doing everything we can to keep Jackson safe. We’ve got individuals with outstanding warrants that is wanted (sic) and we’re looking to bring them to justice.”

Plaintiffs say the checkpoints disproportionately harm people who can’t afford or are unable to stay on top of keeping driver’s licenses, registration and car insurance updated. 

Members from the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety reached out to MCJ about peoples’ experiences with the roadblocks and how members wanted to organize around the issue. 

Wu said the center began looking into the roadblocks and moved quickly to file a lawsuit because harm was building. 

“Every time the roadblocks went up, it was like a casualty zone,” she said. 

Between Jan. 4 to March 18, Jackson police officers made a total of 208 arrests – 10 for felonies, 198 for misdemeanors – from its roadblocks, according to information from the department obtained through a public records request shared with the Mississippi Center for Justice. 

During that period, Jackson police officers also issued 1,149 citations and towed 186 vehicles. 

Members of the alliance spoke with over 80 people in South and West Jackson, where they said they’d heard most of the roadblocks were occurring, and found many had negative experiences.

People said they felt inconvenienced and unable to move in and out of their communities. Alliance members heard a story about a mother who walked home with her children in the rain because her car was towed after going through a checkpoint. 

Archie Skiffer Jr., 43, is a member of the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety and has been a community organizer for over 20 years. He is also one of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

He commutes from Simpson County to work in Jackson, and at night delivers food for DoorDash in the city. Skiffer uses driving apps to find alternate routes to avoid the roadblocks and get food orders to customers in a timely manner. 

The money Skiffer earns from his two jobs help him afford his home and other living expenses. 

“It would be devastating,” he said about potential loss of food delivery income or employment if he were to lose his car. 

While delivering food, Skiffer said he has met Jackson residents who rely on food delivery because they do not have the credentials to drive to get food themselves. He said they fear getting caught up in a roadblock and potentially cited or arrested. 

Like Skiffer and other alliance members, the Poor People’s Campaign also believes Jackson police’s roadblocks criminalize poor people.

The Poor People’s Campaign is working with the city and has set up tents near the checkpoints to provide information to people who may not have a license or other documentation, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said during a March 21 press conference. 

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. A traffic stop by police would need to be supported by reasonable suspicion or probable cause, Wu said. 

The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 roadblocks can’t be used for general crime control, but law enforcement can use them to check for licenses, car insurance and registration, she said. 

General roadblocks treat people like they are guilty when that isn’t always the case, Wu said. 

In a July 1 court filing, the city denied most of the allegations in the complaint, including that the roadblocks are unconstitutional, they target majority Black and low-income neighborhoods and people are treated as suspects as they drive through them. 

“Any injury, damage or deprivation alleged or suffered by the plaintiff was the result of the plaintiff’s failure to act reasonably or avoid or mitigate such injury, damage or deprivation,” the city said in its response. 

In addition, the city says it is immune from the lawsuit under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act and through qualified immunity, which states a government employee can’t be sued if they were acting within the bounds of their job, according to the court documents. 

City Attorney Catoria Martin, whose office is involved in settlement negotiations with the Mississippi Center for Justice, said in an email the city does not comment on pending litigation. Jackson Police Department Public Information Officer Sam Brown did not respond to a request for comment. 

Looking ahead, Skiffer and members of the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety would like to see the roadblocks used in a more equitable way. That could mean where they are placed rotates among precincts over a certain period of time, and the roadblocks could also be placed in predominantly white neighborhoods such as Belhaven or Eastover, he said. 

Skiffer said Jackson police could share information and resources with people who need to renew a driver’s license or let people contact a family member to give their vehicle to instead of having it towed. 

Police can also use discretion not to cite or arrest someone, he said, adding that a warning could work in some situations. 

“Have compassion,” Skiffer said. 

Editor’s note: The Mississippi Center For Justice President and CEO Vangela M. Wade serves on Mississippi Today’s board of trustees.

The post JPD roadblock lawsuit: Plaintiffs, city in settlement negotiations appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Tyler’s ready to move West after visiting the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, while Rick’s actually working. This week, he breaks down the 2022 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class, which includes household names like Eric Moulds and David Dellucci. Plus, can the Braves pull off the same trade-deadline magic the Cleveland boys spoke into existence last season?

Stream all episodes here.

The post Podcast: Hot summer, hot Braves, hot 2022 Hall of Fame Class appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: TANF! appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Editor’s note: This story includes graphic language.

OXFORD – Shelton Timothy Herrington Jr. – the recent Ole Miss graduate who is charged with the murder of Jimmie “Jay” Lee – appeared before a Lafayette County Circuit Court judge for the first time Wednesday. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands clasped behind his back, Herrington said a few words to the judge and, in less than 10 minutes, the proceeding was over. 

Friends and classmates of Herrington and Lee’s family had hoped the hearing would provide some answers to questions that have been swirling over the nearly three weeks since Lee, a Black student at University of Mississippi who is well-known in the LGBTQ community, disappeared. 

At the very least, they wanted to know if Herrington, 22, would make bail. But Kevin Horan, Herrington’s attorney and a state representative, requested the bond hearing be delayed to August 9. Herrington will wait in jail until then. 

The Oxford Police Department arrested Herrington on Friday, July 22, after two weeks of searching for Lee, sending shock waves through the university. Little information is publicly available about why the police arrested Herrington. Carlos Moore, Herrington’s uncle who has also been retained in the case, has said that Herrington is innocent. 

Many students know both Lee and Herrington, who were involved in several of the same Black organizations on campus. That night, it seemed like students immediately took sides and started to speculate, said Braylyn Johnson, a recent graduate who lived with Lee during the pandemic. 

“When they had (the police) announced on Friday that Jay was dead, they didn’t say anything, they just said they had arrested another student,” Johnson said. “That was a moment for people not to necessarily have their moment of grieving for Jay Lee – they took that as a moment to defend Tim.” 

Johnson was at the courthouse on Wednesday for a protest she and other students had organized. An Instagram account called “Justice for Jay Lee!” encouraged people to come wearing bright colors, and Johnson brought hand-drawn signs and a cooler of water bottles. Two hours before the hearing, she was standing next to the lynching memorial by the courthouse, prepping her sign. 

She said Lee – who was outspoken about the routine violence that trans and nonbinary people face everyday in Mississippi – would’ve organized a protest, too. 

“Jay Lee would have spoken up for anyone,” she said. “‘Justice for Jay Lee?’ He would’ve done that 10 times.” 

Around 12:30, three police officers walked Herrington up a sidewalk and into the side door of the courthouse.

Johnson ran up to Herrington.

“That was pretty fucking sucky of you, Tim,” she shouted. 

Inside the courthouse, Herrington’s family waited on the first floor in front of the metal detector. Once the courtroom opened, three university police officers parted the crowd to let Lee’s family through. Some of Lee’s family and friends wore white shirts printed with the words “Justice for Jay.” 

Lee’s parents sat in the front row, his dad’s hand on his mom’s shoulder. 

The judge started the proceeding. He warned everybody to turn their cell phones off because there were “a few more people than we’re used to” in the courtroom.

After the hearing, Herrington’s family left the courtroom first. One of his family members peered through the glass door to the courthouse as Johnson and more than a dozen of Jay’s friends and classmates marched in a circle and chanted “justice for Jay.” Some protesters drove down from Memphis.

Many of Lee’s friends are part of the LGBTQ community in Oxford who have found more acceptance here than in their hometowns. One of those students is Adrian Word, a junior at Ole Miss who is from Tishomingo. He identifies with Lee. 

“Jay is a gay, Black male – so I am,” Word said. “The way I look at it, that could’ve been me. That could’ve been friends, that could’ve been anyone like me.” 

Johnson said she feels like the LGBTQ community is “tolerated” but that Oxford and the university could do more. In particular, she took issue with the statement that Chancellor Glenn Boyce put out on Friday night to acknowledge Herrington’s arrest. 

Boyce wrote that “as investigators continue to search for Jay, we continue to keep Jay’s family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during this time of immense grief.” He included links to several web pages for mental health services on campus, adding “in light of this latest development, I encourage you to lean on and support one another.”

Johnson said she thought Boyce should’ve said more.

“Chancellor Boyce, his remarks are just so – nothing, you know?” Johnson said. “Like a student was fucking murdered. And you know, you think he would want to say more. He said more about us winning a national baseball championship.” 

The LGBTQ community faces disproportionate violence and harassment in Mississippi – a systemic issue that’s also deeply personal. Lee’s killing, Johnson said, directly affects everybody in the community. 

“It’s not just that somebody has died, like an entire community is scared,” Johnson continued. “Like I want to say this is my last friend in the LGBT community that’s gonna face violence at the hands of somebody else … but it’s not.” 

The post As court proceedings begin for slain Ole Miss grad Jay Lee, ‘an entire community is scared’ appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi State Department of Health announced Wednesday the detection of an “uncommon” bacteria on the Gulf Coast called Burkholderia pseudomallei. This is the first time it’s been found in the United States.

MSDH, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identified the bacteria after two people on the Gulf Coast were diagnosed with a rare disease called melioidosis. The disease, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, typically spreads through direct contact with water or soil contaminated with the bacteria, the CDC says.

The CDC says the disease is predominantly found in tropical climates, with cases being more common in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. It is now investigating how widespread the bacteria is in the U.S.

The disease has a wide range of symptoms similar to those of tuberculosis or pneumonia, such as fever, localized pain or swelling, coughing and headaches. Most people who come into contact with the bacteria never develop melioidosis, according to an MSDH press release. The National Institutes of Health estimates that anywhere between 30,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. have the disease.

The CDC says that incubation period for the disease is unclear, but generally ranges between two to four weeks from exposure to the bacteria.

For anyone at risk of exposure to contaminated water and soil, MSDH recommends to:

• Avoid contact with soil or muddy water – especially after heavy rains.
• Protect open wounds with waterproof dressing.
• Wear waterproof boots when gardening, doing yard work or agricultural work – it is critical to prevent infection through the feet and lower legs (after flooding or storms).
• Wear gloves to protect your hands when working directly with soil.

Soil samples collected outside the homes of the two infected patients showed that the bacteria was present in the area since 2020, and that the soil was the likely source of infection.

“Individuals living on the Gulf Coast who have chronic illnesses such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, or excessive alcohol use may be at risk of severe illness from infection and need to take precautions to protect themselves,” the state health department said.

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