Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Ward 6 Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks and Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens all pleaded not guilty to federal charges at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse on Thursday afternoon. A trial has been set for Jan. 6, 2025.

Lumumba, who announced his indictment in a video statement Wednesday, was joined by Banks and Owens on Thursday. All are allegedly conspirators in the widening Jackson bribery scandal, which centers around a hotel development in downtown Jackson.

The mayor, councilman and DA all appeared at a court hearing at 1:30. The three appeared before Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac.

What charges do Lumumba, Banks and Owens face?

Owens is facing eight felony counts; Lumumba is facing five felony counts and Banks is facing two felony counts.

Owens faces one count of conspiracy, three counts of federal program bribery, one count of use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering, one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of making a false statement.

Lumumba faces one count of conspiracy, one count of federal program bribery, one count of use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering, one count of wire fraud and one count money laundering.

Banks faces one count of conspiracy and three counts of federal program bribery.

What are the potential penalties for each?

With his charges, Lumumba could potentially face up to 70 years of imprisonment and fines of up to $1.5 million. Owens potentially faces up to 90 years in federal prison and $2 million in fines. Banks potentially faces up to 15 years in prison and fines of $500,000.

What's happened in the bribery scandal to date?

Lumumba, Banks and Owens indictments follow former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee's guilty plea in August. Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery after accepting nearly $20,000 in "cash, deposits and other gifts."

Two months later, Sherik Marve' Smith, the second conspirator, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery as well. Smith's guilty plea revealed that two more Jackson elected officials were involved in the bribery scandal.

The indictments

The indictments were unsealed Thursday morning. U.S. Prosecutors state Owens and Smith helped to facilitate bribes to Lumumba, Banks and Lee. The bribes were in exchange for the officials' support to help the undercover agents win their fake bid on the city's hotel development project across the street from the Jackson Convention Complex. The city has been aiming to build a development on the property since the mid-2000s.

What happens if mayor steps down? Bribery scandal: What happens to mayor's office in Jackson? Is a special election possible?

Timeline of corruption scandal: Over the course of months, Jackson's bribery scandal has unfolded. See the timeline

What happened in Thursday's indictment hearing?

Banks was the first one to enter the hearing wearing a black suit. He arrived with his lawyer, E. Carlos Tanner. Owens, wearing a navy blue suit, along with his lawyer, Rob McDuff, followed, arriving at 1:15 p.m. Lumumba arrived shortly after at 1:19 p.m., bringing along members of his administration and wearing a dark blue suit. Lumumba is being represented by Thomas Bellinder.

After hearing from the judge, Owens pleaded not guilty at 1:49 p.m. to the eight felony accounts leveled against him. Lumumba and Banks pleaded not guilty as well.

All parties remained calm during the proceeding, a contrast to Lee, who wept in her hearing earlier this year as she pleaded guilty.

They did not move their eyes from the judge as she laid out the charges, except to look through paper copies of court records.

The courtroom was packed with dozens of people waiting outside. Court adjourned at 2:05 p.m.

Owens, Lumumba give statements after hearing

After the hearing, Banks exited the courthouse first but did not provide a comment.

Lumumba exited second and stood on the courthouse steps to address the media, saying he has no plans to resign.

"I am not guilty, and so I will not proceed as a guilty man," Lumumba said. "I will continue to handle the business of the city of Jackson while my attorneys continue to handle the business of these court proceedings. I have full faith in their representation of me. There will be others joining the legal team later on, and we will move forward."

Owens was last to exit. Like Lumumba, he told the press his plans are to continue serving as the district attorney.

"This indictment is a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation," Owens said. "Certainly, the indictment was an assassination attempt of my career. I'd like to go through each and every page of the indictment with you today, but at my lawyer's advice, I can't do that right now. We hope to give you a statement later."

Indictment details: Prosecutors lay out alleged bribes

According to the recently unsealed indictment, Owens facilitated over $80,000 in bribe payments to Lumumba, Lee and Banks in exchange for their agreement to take official action on the city’s long-sought after hotel development project across the street from the Jackson Convention Complex. It is a project the city has been trying to build since the mid-2000s. The city released a statement of qualifications, or SOQ, for the project on Jan. 31.

Owens accepted at least $115,000 in cash and “promises of future financial benefits” from two developers from Nashville who turned out to be undercover FBI agents. The agents used Owens' relationships with the elected officials “to act as an intermediary” for the bribes. Smith helped Owens facilitate the bribes.

“Owens, Banks, Lumumba, Lee and Smith were not aware that, in reality, the Developers were working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the indictment states.

Banks has first meeting with Owens, undercover agents

On Jan. 11, Banks allegedly requested $50,000 in exchange for his future vote in favor of the “developers” bogus real estate company that was bidding on the city’s SOQ. In February, Banks allegedly accepted an “initial payment” of $10,000 from the undercover agents through Owens, along with a promise of an employment opportunity for a family member. Additionally, Lee accepted nearly $20,000 in February and March also in exchange for her vote in favor of the undercover agents’ company.

During the meeting, Owens dismissed Banks then told the agents:

“We never give them the asking price. I buy [expletive for women's genitalia], I buy cars, I buy cows, I buy drugs, whatever. My point is like [Banks] need 50, you get 30. He gets installments. That’s my game,” according to the indictment.

When Banks rejoined the meeting, Banks told the agents he needed “fifty grand as soon as possible.”

'They're not FBI by the way': Dinner focuses on hotel deal

On Feb. 12, 2024, Owens arranged a dinner with the agents, Lumumba and Smith. After introductions, Owens told Lumumba, “I’ve done background checks. They’re not FBI by the way.” He also told the mayor the agents' focus “shifted” to the hotel project across from the convention center.

Following dinner and without Lumumba, Owens, Smith and the agents met again. Owens told the agents he would secure more votes from members of the Jackson City Council, but that they already had “the leadership” through Lumumba and Banks, who was president of the council at the time. He explained that the best way to pay the bribes was through “campaign accounts, campaign contributions” to influence public officials. Owens planned to “clean” the money and deposit all cash provided to him by the agents.

Owens then allegedly stated:

“I don't give a [expletive] where the money comes from. It can come from blood diamonds in Africa, I don't give a [expletive]. I'm a whole DA. [Expletive] that [expletive]. My job, as I understand it, with a little paperwork, is to get this deal done, and get it done most effectively … We can take dope boy money, I don't give a [expletive]. But I need to clean it and spread it. I can do it in here. That's why we have businesses. To clean the money. Right? I don't give a [expletive]. You give us cash, we deposit it and give it back that way. That's easy.”

A deal is made

On Feb. 13, Owens allegedly received $60,000 from the agents, including $25,000 for Banks and $10,000 for Lee. He told the agents he would keep the bribes in a safe at his DA office. When Banks arrived, Owens gave him an envelope with $10,000 cash inside, saying the money was from the developers.

"Owens understood that the money was being paid in exchange for Banks's future vote(s) to approve the Developers' proposed development project," the indictment states. "Owens then inquired as to whether Banks was 'comfortable' walking around with the cash because it was 'not a check like we normally do.' Owens told Banks to 'do what you need to do, if you need to document some of this, then document it.' Banks said that he was going to 'break it up.'"

In the evening, Banks also accepted employment for a family member and “a protective detail service” from the agents, paid through Owens. Between March and May 2024, the agents spent approximately $1,500 on Banks’ driver services and $4,800 on the family member’s employment.

According to a public-records request the Clarion Ledger received from the Hinds County DA’s office, a Briana Banks works as a legal assistant for Owens, making $30,000 per year. One of Banks’ daughters is named Briana.

Campaign debt paid off

On Feb. 15, Owens paid off $10,000 of Lee’s campaign debt via a wire transfer. Owens sent the agents proof of the payment via text message, saying Lee understood the payment was in exchange for her vote in favor of the undercover agents for the hotel project’s SOQ.

On Feb. 28, Owens, Smith and the agents met in Owens' “war room” where Owens "explained that to ensure Lee's votes at the various stages of the development project, they could pay Lee $5,000 every month from Owen's campaign account," according to the indictment.

During that same meeting, the agents asked Owens and Smith why they needed Lumumba’s help. Smith responded saying Lumumba “could make things a lot harder.” Later, Owens informed the agents that Lumumba agreed to take a trip to Florida with the agents. Owens also said it was “important” to get Lumumba on their side or he could “do damage.”

Owens allegedly warned the agents to be wary of attracting the attention of law enforcement and appearing like they were bribing public officials.

A transcript from the indictment reveals that later in the evening on Feb. 28, Owens told the agents that Lumumba “would not take cash directly,” but that Owens needed between $50,000 and $100,000 to deposit the cash for campaign contribution checks.

Owens emphasized, according to the indictment, that if Lumumba was given the $100,000 cash “then everybody goes to jail.” Owens went on to say that he kept the agents’ money in his DA office mixed with “dope money and drug money and more than a million dollars.” Owens said he mixed the money with other funds in the DA’s office so it couldn’t be traced.

Owens allegedly said:

“Because if someone comes in my mother [expletive] safe it's a million dollars in cash, it's a million dollars. You know what, if they come to my house, it reads like this 'DA Owens had twenty grand in cash.' The regular people who vote for me, who give me $10 or a $100 they can't count that much money. But guess what, in my safe at my DA office I got a million dollars in cash, guess what, your [expletive] ten grand don't matter, your fifteen grand it don't matter, I got a million dollars there. But guess what, at my house it matters.”

Lumumba and Owens hop on FBI's private jet to Florida 'fundraiser'

In March and April, Lumumba is alleged to have accepted $50,000 from the developers via Owens disguised as five $10,000 campaign donations.

“Owens used the campaign-donation checks to disguise the true source of the funds, the Developers, in an attempt to avoid scrutiny from the public and law enforcement,” the indictment states.

On April 2, Lumumba, Owens and Smith boarded a private jet with the undercover agents that was heading to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The private jet was paid for by the FBI. Later in the day, Owens and Lumumba joined the agents in a private room on a yacht. The meeting was audio and video recorded. The following exchange, according to the indictment, was captured:

• Owens: "We want to be very mindful of out-of-state money."

• Lumumba: "Yeah."

• Owens: "So what this team did was give us the money, being me, and we just filtered it though several accounts in a way we (are) comfortable doing."

• Lumumba: "Yeah."

• Owens: "So we did five $10,000 checks to make it very simple, and then we get past the process, to our second phase, maybe in Jackson, somewhere else… we’ll do something similar to make sure there’s no worries about you financially in this thing cause you’re as big part of this thing as anybody."

• Lumumba: "Yeah."

One of the agents asked Lumumba to move the city’s SOQ deadline from April 30 to April 10 or 15. Lumumba then called a city employee and directed them to move the deadline to April 15. The indictment shows a picture of Lumumba, sitting next to Owens, making a phone call.

The second agent then gave Lumumba five $10,000 checks in an envelope. Another picture shows Lumumba holding what appears to be an envelope and talking with Owens.

Lumumba then confirmed that the city employee had moved the deadline. Later in the day, Owens received another $50,000 in cash that he removed from a bag and pocketed. A third picture in the indictment shows Owens with a wad of cash in his hand appearing to take more money out of a black bag.

Owens, Lumumba and the agents then went to a local club that night, where Owens directed the agents to make cash available for Lumumba to use at the club. Lumumba also directed the agents to pay cash to employees of the club for Lumumba’s benefit, according to the indictment.

When Lumumba got back to Jackson on April 4, the five $10,000 checks he received were deposited into Lumumba’s campaign bank account. Prior to that, Lumumba’s account balance was approximately $465.30.

How Owens and Smith allegedly planned the events

All of this kicked off last year when Owens and Smith went to Nashville on Oct. 9 through 11, 2023 on the FBI's private jet to "discuss business opportunities" with the undercover agents.

“Owens was ready, willing, and predisposed to engage in bribery at least as early as October 16, 2023. On that date, Owens told the Developers about his influence in the City of Jackson and the ability to purchase the support of public officials in the City of Jackson," according to the indictment.

Specifically, Owens told the agents that he could "give" them the Jackson Redevelopment Authority (JRA), a seven-person commission established by the Jackson City Council with authority over certain real property in Jackson. Owens also told the agents that he and Smith "own enough of the city" and that he had "a bag of [expletive] information on all the city councilmen" that allowed him to "get votes approved."

During Owens' victory party after he was reelected on Nov. 7, 2023, Owens told the developers “unprompted” that his position as DA was “the part-time job. The full-time job is developing.”

The next day, on Nov. 8, 2023, the undercover agents met Owens, Smith and “Witness 1,” and negotiated a payment of $250,000 to be paid to Owens, Smith and the witness. On top of that, Owens and Smith were to be paid $100,000 each, while the witness was to be paid $50,000.

In December, Owens, Smith and the witness boarded another private jet with the undercover agents to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. That evening, Owens met the agents in a private room on a yacht and told them the best way to pay him was cash and “that he had brought a bag on the trip specifically for that purpose.” One of the agents then gave Owens $125,000 in cash to be split between Owens, Smith and the witness.

“After receiving the $125,000, Owens explained his value to the agents: 'I'm not trying to overemphasize this, you guys, but my ability to prosecute people … There's only one me. So right now, every police agency comes to us. Everybody needs something. Every file comes to us. Everybody needs something fixed,'” the indictment states.

On Jan. 10, Owens and Smith met with the undercover agents in Owens’ “war room” and told them about the city’s forthcoming SOQ that would be released on Jan. 31. The agents “expressed interest in obtaining the downtown development project for themselves and noted their desire to secure the long-term support of the City Council.

In response, Owens stated that they would need to avoid paying the City Council members too much money up front.

"I don't know if you have been around addicts before, right? You can give them a little blow, a little blunt, a little drink. But if you give them a case of whiskey, and you give them a kilo of coke, and you give them a mother [expletive] pound of weed. They will die," Owens allegedly said.

— Clarion Ledger reporters Mary Boyte, Pam Dankins, Grant McLaughlin and Ross Reily contributed reporting to this story.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Live updates: Jackson Mayor Lumumba, DA Owens, Councilman Banks indicted