HINDS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – The Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted on a policy that would allow Credell Calhoun to remain as the Board’s president in 2022.
On Wednesday, December 29, the Board held a special virtual meeting. District Two Supervisor David Archie and District One Supervisor Robert Graham attended in-person to protest.
The meeting was called to vote on changing the way the Board president and vice president are elected. Archie attempted to filibuster until Calhoun ended the meeting. After roughly half an hour, he was asked to step outside by Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones. Then, three Board members voted on the changes that will keep Calhoun as the Board president for the rest of his four-year term.
“They want to change the rules without using proper protocol where you need 2/3 the vote to change any of the rules,” said Archie.
Archie and Graham referred to the meeting as an attempted coup. They said the Board never voted to make the meeting virtual or for the item to be on the agenda. Archie said he will still be taking over as Board president on January 1.
“I just want the public to understand that this president has less than 72 hours to be the president of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. He wants to be a dictator, as well as a ruler. I suggest that he move to Cuba and North Korea and those places where they have dictators,” said Archie.
After the vote, the Board discussed the Raymond Detention Center in an executive session. The jail is at risk of being taken over by the Department of Justice.