NAACP files lawsuit after Gov. Reeves signs House Bill 1020

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The NAACP Office of General Counsel and Covington & Burling LLP has filed a lawsuit after Governor Tate Reeves signed and approved House Bill 1020 Friday.

The controversial bill allows the primary jurisdiction of the Capitol Complex Improvement District (Capitol Police) across Jackson, meaning the Jackson Police Department would have secondary jurisdiction.

H.B. 1020 also provides additional funding to the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office to hire two additional assistant prosecutors and a criminal investigator.

Saturday, the NAACP filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi “on behalf of the NAACP, the NAACP Mississippi State Conference, the Jackson Branch of the NAACP, and a number of Jackson residents and civil rights activists to challenge two new Mississippi statutes,” the statement read.

NAACP President & CEO, Derrick Johnson has since released the following statement:

“As our country continues to face the reality and consequences of our broken law enforcement and criminal justice systems, passing legislation to increase policing, install undemocratically appointed judges, and infringe on the constitutional right to protest is simultaneously irresponsible and dangerous. To be clear – this legislation is nothing new. The people of Jackson have been silenced and have faced years of discriminatory disinvestment and neglect from the state government which led to the major water crisis they are still dealing with to this day. If elected officials in Mississippi want to help address the results of their negligence and improve the lives of Jackson residents, they should start with completing improvements to Jackson’s water system, not undermining the constitutional rights of their citizens.
Black Jacksonians need real investment in their infrastructure and complete control over the future of their city. The NAACP will do whatever it takes to protect Jackson residents from the elected officials that continue to fail them. We will continue to collaborate and mobilize with the people of Jackson to ensure their voices are heard and rights are protected."
NAACP President & CEO, Derrick Johnson

Former Attorney General of the United States and Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling L.L.P, Eric H. Holder, Jr. has also released a statement in support of the lawsuit:

“Mississippi House Bill 1020 and Senate Bill 2343 represent a disturbing regression, rolling back decades of progress by stripping Jackson residents of their fundamental right to democratically elect leaders, undermining the authority of those they have elected, and severely restricting their first amendment right to freedom of speech. This Legislative body has proven that they are uninterested in upholding their sworn oath to protect the constitutional rights of their constituents, including the majority Black residents of Jackson.
Once again, the responsibility has fallen on us - Black advocates and citizens - to hold state lawmakers accountable and fight back against this dangerous legislation. I am proud to work collaboratively with the NAACP to force these undemocratic lawmakers to answer for their brazen, historically resonant actions in the public sphere – and in a court of law.”
Former Attorney General of the United States and Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling L.L.P, Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Click here to read the NAACP’s full statement.

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