The resignation of former Jackson city councilwoman Angelique Lee on Wednesday morning, followed by her subsequent plea of guilty to a federal bribery charge, has stirred a whirlwind of controversy in a city that’s no stranger to it.
FBI raids conducted in Mississippi’s capital city in May 2024 elicited questions of which – or how many – Jackson officials could be facing federal discipline. Beyond Lee, the only official to have charges formally levied against her at this time, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens has deflected rumors that he is involved in the investigation. Owens’ office plus one of his businesses were subject to the raids earlier this year.
“It is our understanding that the federal investigation does not involve Jody’s service as District Attorney,” a statement from Owens’ team reads. “For the past 15 years, Jody has also been engaged in real estate development. This sort of private business activity is permitted by the law even during the time a person serves as a D.A. For the moment, we have no further comment as we await the outcome of the investigation.”
Owens’ comments aside, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes – a public official since 1989 and someone who never minces words – told reporters on Wednesday evening that events surrounding Lee are a harbinger of more indictments to come. While the justice system has yet to publicly identify one other co-conspirator mentioned in court documents alongside Lee, Stokes said other officials beyond that individual could face charges.
“I believe there’s going to be a number of indictments coming down to this community at the county level and at the city level,” Stokes said, asserting that other city council members and even members of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors will be arrested. “I’ve said several weeks ago that we need to pray for this city, and we need to pray for the county.”
Stokes, who has vouched to be clean and was married to a Jackson judge before her passing last year, hinted that some significant figures could be nabbed in ongoing federal investigations. He also theorized that Lee was “sacrificed” so that “bigger fish” could protect themselves.
“It’s going to get a little more cloudy before the sun comes back out,” Stokes added. “Some big-name people in this city might go down.”
The guilty plea from Lee is not the first time city officials have been mired in controversy since Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba took office in 2017. Lumumba alleged in February 2022 that multiple city council members, including Stokes and Ashby Foote of Ward 1, accepted bribes over a sanitation contract.
“I believe certain members of our council have accepted bribes and are steering a contract. That is what I believe is going on,” Lumumba said.
In response to the bribery accusations, Stokes publicly invited the FBI to come investigate Lumumba and called for the mayor to “stop smoking that dope.” Following the federal raids earlier this year, which did include a stop but not a raid at city hall, Stokes encouraged federal officials to keep digging.
“Don’t stop at the city council and the DA,” Stokes said. “Let’s look at everybody. Let’s find out who’s been taking the money.”
Aafram Sellers, a prominent local defense attorney who is representing Lee in her case, agreed that more indictments are to come.
“People are going to draw whatever inferences they want from that but it’s not something I’m at liberty to speak on,” Sellers said after his client pleaded guilty. “I think, you know, there’s more probably to come based on what you saw in court and the bill of information.”
While Lumumba released a statement following former councilwoman Lee’s resignation, neither the mayor nor his office has made public comment since her guilty plea.
