JACKSON COUNTY, MS — A frightening pattern is emerging among local officials. When faced with public criticism, they put their efforts into silencing the people, rather than addressing the concerns. Both County and City elected officials are increasingly resorting to intimidation, threats, and procedural roadblocks to silence residents.
Jackson County Supervisor Randy Bosarge made that abundantly clear at Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Rather than addressing concerns from residents, he used his time at the microphone to lash out at those who criticize him online, daring them to “call him out” face-to-face. His message wasn’t about accountability — it was about control. And he’s not alone.
From Mayor Kenny Holloway’s demand that residents “step back from the keyboard” to Alderman Rickey Authement’s push for a legal crackdown on a civic group, local officials are working harder to stifle free speech than they are to answer the questions of the people they were elected to serve.
‘Come Say that to My Face’
Supervisor Randy Bosarge used Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting to send a message — not one of transparency or accountability, but one designed to intimidate his critics into silence. His rant, disguised as a challenge to “social media warriors,” was a direct attack on the First Amendment rights of his constituents.
“If you’re man enough, lady enough, whatever, to get on that keyboard and hide behind it, then be man or lady enough to show up right here in front of us and call me out,” Bosarge bellowed, making it clear that he has no patience for criticism unless it’s done on his terms.
Bosarge’s demand that critics confront him face-to-face is an attempt to chill free speech. Not every citizen wants to engage in a heated, live confrontation with a government official — nor should they have to.
The ability to criticize from a distance, to speak freely without fear of intimidation, is just as legitimate as showing up at a podium. By framing online dissent as cowardice, Bosarge is attempting to discredit an entire segment of the public conversation and discourage people from speaking out at all.
And let’s not forget — his invitation for “discussion” is nothing short of a farce.
Public meetings don’t allow for real debate. Residents get a strict three minutes to speak their minds. Officials don’t have to respond and they often remind the public that meetings are not Q&A sessions. The board gets the last word, unchallenged. This is not a forum for free-flowing discussion — it’s a controlled, one-sided platform where officials dictate the rules.
Daring people to face him “like a man” and making it sound like a physical challenge wasn’t an invitation for civic engagement. It was a threat. It was meant to make critics think twice before speaking out. Some people will hear his words and decide it’s not worth the trouble to voice their concerns. That’s the chilling effect in action.
Bosarge’s challenge is designed to make him look like he’s open to debate, but in reality, his rant was meant to shut critics up. He’s not inviting discussion. He’s trying to silence it.
Listen to Bosarge’s full rant here:
A Pattern of Officials Trying to Control the Narrative
Bosarge’s comments are just the latest example of local officials attempting to suppress criticism by shifting the conversation on their terms. Last year, Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway took a similar approach when he wrote an op-ed scolding residents for criticizing city officials online.
Holloway’s message? “Step back from the keyboard.”
Instead of addressing concerns about transparency, ethics, and accountability, Holloway dismissed online discourse as little more than gossip and implied that the people raising these issues were the problem — not the actions of his administration.
But Holloway’s attempt to control the narrative didn’t stop at condescending op-eds. When journalists began reporting on city officials’ misconduct, the mayor and his allies took direct action to shut them down. Holloway and his team made active attempts to silence the media by sending intimidating emails, text messages, and threats. Holloway even went as far as demanding a local news outlet fire journalists who criticize his administration.
Ocean Springs Alderman Rickey Authement followed suit.
In a secretly recorded conversation with former Community Development Director Carter Thompson, Authement suggested conjuring up a legal method to silence a local civic group and keep them from accessing documents through public records requests.
In the conversation, Thompson vents about the local organization SaveOS.
“Well I just think [Save] Ocean Springs is really going to give everybody a hard time, public records requests and trying to play I gotcha,” she said. “It’s going to add an extra layer of stress to everybody.”
Authement responded with a draconian solution. “Our city attorney has got to come up with something to start combating all this Save Ocean Springs.”
Put aside any opinions you may have about SaveOS or any other civic engagement group. Now, replace “Save Ocean Springs” in Authement’s statement with a friend, a group you support, or even yourself. The right to free speech isn’t just for voices you agree with — it protects everyone, including those who challenge authority.
Authement’s remark wasn’t just an offhand complaint — it was a clear attempt to weaponize the legal system against citizens exercising their right to government transparency.
Listen to the conversation here:
Silencing Critics Won’t Make the Criticism Go Away
Bosarge, Holloway, and Authement may believe that intimidation will make their critics disappear, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
Attempts to silence public dissent, whether through aggressive rhetoric, pressuring the media, or legal maneuvering, only serve to highlight the very corruption, secrecy, and lack of accountability that citizens are speaking out against.
The First Amendment doesn’t come with conditions. Citizens don’t need to stand at a podium, stare down an elected official, or play by arbitrary rules to have their voices heard. Whether in person, online, or through public records requests, the right to question government is fundamental to a free nation.
In the end, it’s not the critics who look weak for speaking out — it’s the officials who go to such great lengths to silence them.
