The mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, 41, and former President and current member of the Jackson City Council, Aaron Banks, 47, and Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II, 43, are charged with participating in a bribery scheme to enrich themselves after having been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department.

Owens, Lumumba, and Banks made their initial court appearances last week before U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac in Jackson.

“The indictment alleges that Jackson’s mayor, the district attorney of Jackson, and members of Jackson’s city council conspired to accept bribes in exchange for official acts benefiting purported real estate developers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. 

As part of the scheme, Mayor Lumumba reportedly accepted a bribe payment of $50,000 from the developers in exchange for exerting his influence and taking official action relating to the developers’ proposed project in downtown Jackson.

As directed by Owens and Lumumba, the bribe payments were concealed as five $10,000 campaign-donation checks from third-party entities and individuals, including Owens. Lumumba then laundered that money through his campaign account before cashing out a portion of the payment.

He was first elected in 2017. In the primary election, Lumumba soundly won the Democratic nomination, defeating both incumbent mayor Tony Yarber and State Senator John Horhn. 

Lumumba went on to win the general election in a landslide. He is a self-described progressive and socialist. Lumumba has also referred to himself as a’ political revolutionary.’