Federal agents raided a business owned by Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, according to local reports. The raid, conducted Wednesday morning, targeted the Downtown Cigar Company in Jackson, Mississippi.
FBI spokeswoman Marshay Lawson told WLBT that the bureau is serving “federal search warrants at multiple locations” but stressed that “[t]here is no threat to public safety.”
Lawson also explained that the “affidavit in support of the search warrants has been sealed by the court” and that she could not comment on the reason for the raid.
A source told WLBT that FBI agents also went to City Hall “where they spoke to Mayor [Chokwe] Lumumba’s chief of staff, Dr. Safiya Omari.”
BREAKING: FBI agents seize evidence, examine items found in a downtown Jackson business owned by Hinds Co. District Attorney Jody Owens.
Crime scene tape blocks the entrance to the Downtown Cigar Company on Pearl Street.
Owens has not responded to requests for comment.#wlbt pic.twitter.com/VNXlKegDFR
— C.J. LeMaster (@CJLeMaster) May 22, 2024
Owens assumed office in 2020 after his campaign received $500,000 from the Mississippi Justice and Public Safety PAC, which is affiliated with George Soros, according to the Capital Research Center.
The CRC also noted that Owens was “accused of sexually harassing his female colleagues while working at the Southern Poverty Law Center.” (RELATED: Soros DA Declines To Charge Pro-Palestinian Protester Accused Of Assaulting Officer)
Despite the raids, the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office remains operational. “This morning, FBI Agents came to our offices. We are fully cooperating with their efforts. The Hinds County District Attorney’s office is fully functioning and continues its work on behalf of the citizens of Hinds County,” Owens’ office said in a statement acknowledging the raid, according to WJTV.
Owens’ tenure as district attorney has seen multiple controversies, one of which involved a dismissed case against two police officers “for lack of evidence that the officers ’caused any injury’ to the alleged victim,” according to the Capital Research Center.
