Jackson’s mayor, a city councilman and a local district attorney who all face charges in a high-profile federal bribery investigation will go to trial in the summer of 2026.
During a March 7 court hearing at the Thad Cochran Courthouse in Jackson, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Judge Daniel P. Jordan set the trial date for Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks and Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens for July 13, 2026, attorney Carlos Tanner confirmed to the Mississippi Free Press on March 7.
Tanner, who represents Banks, told the judge that while he understood “the need for a speedy trial,” he was “advocating for a fair trial” for his client, WLBT reported on March 7.
The trial will start with jury selection and is expected to last 5 to 6 weeks, Tanner said.
Lumumba remains a candidate for reelection this year as mayor, seeking his third term despite the charges. Prosecutors allege that he accepted $50,000 in campaign donations from undercover FBI agents in exchange for using his position as an elected official to influence a city contract.
“I am not guilty. So, I will not proceed as a guilty man,” the mayor told reporters gathered outside the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse following his arraignment on Nov. 7, 2024.
Banks is not seeking re-election.
Former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Hinds County businessman Sherik Marve Smith both pleaded guilty last year to charges related to the case.
The mayor’s sister, activist and attorney Rukia Lumumba, told reporters on Nov. 7, 2024, that her family is “determined and undeterred” regardless of the charges. “He is going to run for mayor, and he will continue the work of mayor, and he will be re-elected. He has done great things for Jackson,” she said.
During their arraignments, all three men pleaded not guilty to the charges. They each could face years in prison if convicted.