JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi congressman is asking the FBI to review the slaying of an openly gay mayoral candidate to determine if any federal laws might have been violated.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson represents a district that includes Clarksdale, where Marco McMillian was running for mayor. McMillian was found slain last week in a rural area nearby.
Thompson said Tuesday that he has confidence in the sheriff investigating the death but that he wants the FBI to get involved because that’s what McMillian’s family wants.
Thompson calls the violence in the slaying “unconscionable.”
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A person with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to The Associated Press that McMillian’s body was bruised and there were burns on at least one area. The person wasn’t authorized to publicly comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The slaying received significant attention, in part, because McMillian’s campaign said he was the first openly gay, viable candidate for public office in Mississippi.
Sheriff’s deputies last week charged 22-year-old Lawrence Reed with murder in the case.
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