6. MS - Jackson mayor questioned about U.S. Capitol badge

Jackson Clarion-Ledger

July 27, 2006

By Kathleen Baydala kbaydala@jackson.gannett.com And Chris Joyner chris.joyner@jackson.gannett.com

Mayor Frank Melton caused a stir in the nation’s capital Wednesday when congressional staffers noticed he was wearing a U.S. Capitol badge reserved for armed law enforcement.

Melton and Marcus Ward, the mayor’s chief of staff and city lobbyist, were in Washington to discuss a $29 million funding request for the city with staff who work for 2nd District Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

“One of the staffers who was in meeting with the mayor inquired about the law enforcement badge that he (the mayor) was wearing and asked whether he was armed,” Lanier Avant, Thompson’s chief of staff, said. “The mayor said no.”

It’s the House of Representatives’ policy that anyone who receives that type of badge must first present credentials and be armed, Avant said.

The incident created an uneasy atmosphere in the congressman’s office, Avant said.

“We’ve never had a mayor come in the office with one of those badges on,” he said. “To be quite honest, it sends a very uncomfortable signal to folks because a lot of people don’t come to work expecting to be around firearms.”

Melton’s spokesman Tyrone Lewis refused to comment on how the mayor received the credential or whether the mayor was armed while inside the Capitol.

“We’re not going to respond to that,” he said. “I’m not even going to call (Melton) about that. ... We don’t see that it is very much of a story.”