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)
- The Jackson trio are set to go on trial in the summer of 2026.
A former Jackson mayor is asking a federal judge to dismiss bribery charges against him.
Attorneys for former capital city mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba filed the dismissal motion on February 27, but court officials told Magnolia Tribune that the filing is not available to the public because a federal judge ruled the motion to be “restricted.”
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The dismal motion comes only weeks after Lumumba’s legal team filed a different motion for dismissal. That motion also requested qualification statements regarding the development of the convention center project, which is at the core of the bribery case. Lumumba’s attorneys are also seeking documentation regarding an FBI agent’s grand jury testimony. The documents are under seal by order of a federal judge.
Court records show that on March 9, a subpoena seeking information from Wells Fargo was returned. The Corporation Services Company is the agent of record for the San Francisco-based banking giant.
In late February, Lumumba’s defense team asked the court to seal the legal filings from the public.
Court records show that in October, Carroll testified before the grand jury that the former mayor wanted $100,000 or more to support a convention center hotel proposal in 2024, according to a 32-page indictment.
Lumumba faces five counts of allegedly taking bribes in exchange for moving the deadline for contractors to bid on the project.
The FBI created a fictitious company called Facility Solution Team to submit the bid. The federal government alleges that while meeting with the undercover agents in Florida, Lumumba called and instructed an unnamed city employee to move up the deadline, benefiting the Facility Solution Team.
FBI agents posed as out-of-state developers seeking to gain the contract. The sting was called “Operation Capitol Matters” and was aimed at investigating corruption in Jackson.
“Operation Capitol Matters” also netted former city councilman Aaron Banks and Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, who has also filed a motion to dismiss the charges. The Jackson three are scheduled for a summer 2026 trial.
However, Banks, the former Ward Six City Councilman, filed a motion “for severance of defendants” last month, seeking to separate himself from his alleged co-conspirators through a separate trial.
Court filings allege that Banks demanded $50,000, a security detail and a job for a family member in exchange for his support of the fictitious project. Owens alleged provided Banks with $35,000, saying the rest would be given at a later date.
Lumumba, Banks and Owens have all pleaded not guilty.
As of Tuesday evening, federal Judge Daniel P. Jordan had yet to rule on the motions.
