City Tells Federal Judge Truth ‘Makes Little Difference’ in Sworn Court Declarations

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OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – The City of Ocean Springs has told a federal judge that the accuracy of a sworn declaration “makes little difference.”

The statement appeared in the city’s response to a motion to strike portions of a sworn declaration submitted by City Clerk Christine Millard — a declaration filed in support of the city’s motion for a protective order seeking to restrict GC Wire’s communication with city officials and bar the right to make public records requests.

The extraordinary admission came the same week GC Wire uncovered new discrepancies and false statements in a nearly $9 million state grant deal.

What GC Wire’s Records Requests Have Revealed

A journalist’s ability to question officials and request public records isn’t a privilege — it’s the foundation of transparency. Together, those rights ensure that what government says can be tested against what government actually does.

Before labeling GC Wire’s work as “harassment,” this outlet has used public records requests and media inquiries for investigations that have exposed some of Ocean Springs’ most consequential scandals in years.

Through lawful and documented requests, GC Wire reporting has revealed many questionable, if not illegal, actions including:

• Zoning change procedures that failed to provide necessary noticing to residents;
• Unlawful issuing of traffic citations that bypassed the municipal court system and made threats unavailable without judicial oversight;
• Secret audio recordings at City Hall that captured conversations of residents without any posted notice or consent;
• False statements made to the press and state investigators;
• Open Meetings Act and Open Records Act violations that kept residents from receiving public information and actions by government officials;
• Unauthorized billing charges made to residents costing hundreds of thousands of dollars;
• Backroom plans to manipulate zoning procedures allowing tax dollars to funnel to preferred developers.

Every one of those revelations, and more, began with a public-records request or media inquiry — the same processes the city now asks a federal court to ban.

A Motion to Silence

The city’s demand for silence is part of a First Amendment lawsuit filed by this reporter for retaliatory actions taken after questionable activity by city officials was revealed to the public. Ocean Springs attorneys now claim since the bases of the case is about First Amendment rights, any exercise of those rights is now case related and should be barred.

In its motion for a protective order, the city’s attorneys accused GC Wire of “harassing” City Hall with requests for information and records. What they did not include were any examples of the alleged conduct — not a single “abusive” or “inappropriate” message.

Instead, their argument rested on Millard’s sworn declaration, which claimed GC Wire had submitted “approximately 45” public-records requests and other media inquiries emailed since June 2025.

But court filings show otherwise.

GC Wire documented 25 requests during that period. When that evidence, along with actual examples of respectful media inquiries, was presented, the city’s attorneys back-pedaled, writing that the accuracy of their sworn statement “makes little difference.”

In other words, the factual foundation of their entire motion — a sworn declaration filed under penalty of perjury — suddenly didn’t matter.

Conflicting Statements That Sparked the Demand

Millard’s declaration was already suspect before the city began retreating from it.

Millard told the public she and everyone else at City Hall lacks access to city emails, so a high priced third party must be used to fulfill public records requests that ask for correspondences between city officials. Under oath, she claimed she is able to access city emails and reviewed those same emails to tally correspondence with GC Wire.

That contradiction formed the basis of GC Wire’s earlier investigation, Transparency for Sale.

Days after that story was published, the city furthered their request for court protection from the journalist who exposed it.

A Systemic Pattern of Secrecy and Deception

Federal declarations aren’t political statements. They are sworn testimony carrying the same weight as courtroom evidence. Minimizing the importance of truth in a sworn filing undermines not just a legal argument but public trust in the people making it.

Ocean Springs officials have resisted transparency at nearly every step — from denying lawful public records requests to scheduling sub-quorum meetings and changing the names of committees to avoid public scrutiny. Now, their filings minimize the importance of factual accuracy altogether.

The pattern is no longer subtle. It’s systemic.

The city is already defending multiple federal lawsuits and several public-records appeals before the Mississippi Ethics Commission. Instead of correcting course, officials continue doubling down — dismissing accuracy, attacking those who uncover inconsistencies, and using taxpayer-funded lawyers to do it.

A government that treats truth as optional inevitably targets the press that documents it. That is what is happening in Ocean Springs.

For a city that once prided itself on small-town transparency and accountability, this is where things stand: a sworn declaration riddled with falsehoods, a legal filing that tells a federal judge accuracy “makes little difference,” and a taxpayer-funded effort to silence the news outlet that caught them acting out multiple times.

GC Wire did not begin reporting because of this lawsuit. This lawsuit exists because of what GC Wire’s reporting uncovered.