City Attorney Turned to Police in Effort to Silence Investigative Reporting

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – In a move that seems to have blurred the line between public office and personal vendetta, then-City Attorney Robert Wilkinson reportedly sought help from Police Chief Steve Dye to stop GC Wire publisher E. Brian Rose from continuing his reporting on Wilkinson’s involvement in the Securix scandal.

The conversation allegedly took place in May, while Wilkinson was still serving as the city’s top legal advisor.

According to a source with direct knowledge of the exchange, Wilkinson told the chief that he and his wife were “afraid Brian Rose would break into our house while we are sleeping and harm us.” The source also confirmed they followed up with Chief Dye directly after speaking with Wilkinson.

When Rose learned of the incident, he immediately contacted Chief Dye for clarification.

“I was recently informed that Robert Wilkinson or his wife may have spoken with you regarding safety concerns they had following one of my recent articles,” Rose wrote in an email to Dye. “I want to clarify that I have never had any unprofessional or threatening interactions with any city official. Are there any concerns on your end that I can address for you on this matter?”

Dye’s response was brief and telling:

“No problems at all. Have a good day,” the chief replied.

The source says Wilkinson justified his concerns by citing a “brain problem,” a reference to Rose’s well-known battle with Quinism.

Rose, a combat veteran of the Somalia and Bosnia conflicts, has been outspoken about his decades-long struggle with the disease. Quinism is a neurological condition caused by exposure to mefloquine, an antimalarial drug once forced upon U.S. troops deployed to Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It can lead to a wide range of symptoms — including severe sleep disturbances, vertigo, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive decline. It is often misdiagnosed as PTSD or other disorders.

In 2018, Rose made the effects of meflloquine a central focus of his congressional campaign, pledging to push for its ban across all branches of the U.S. military. Since then, he has used social media to raise awareness about the condition, regularly encouraging other veterans to seek diagnosis and treatment.

During his time in uniform, Rose served in the military’s elite Joint Combat Camera unit — a team of trained journalists and photojournalists embedded with combat forces on the ground and in the air. Unlike civilian war correspondents, Combat Camera troops are expected to engage in battle if needed, carrying a weapon on one shoulder and a camera on the other. They document missions in real time while often coming under fire themselves.

Rose has since been granted disabled combat veteran status based on the lasting impact of his service-related injuries, including Quinism.

“I’ve lived with this disease for more than 30 years,” Rose said. “I’ve never hidden my exposure or lasting effects of mefloquine. I have repeatedly written about it publicly, but I never expected a government official to weaponize my illness as an excuse to silence me.”

The Reporting That Sparked the Panic

The comments Wilkinson reportedly made to the police didn’t come out of nowhere. They came after months of investigative reporting that pulled back the curtain on one of the most troubling municipal law enforcement schemes in Mississippi.

In late 2024, Rose began publishing a series of articles exposing Wilkinson’s personal ties to Securix, a private traffic enforcement program that operated in Ocean Springs and other Mississippi cities. Under the program, residents were issued citations generated by automated cameras, but the tickets often bypassed the traditional court system. Instead, violators were told to pay fines through a website operated by a private company, sometimes under threat of license suspension or legal consequences.

But behind the scenes, it wasn’t just about traffic tickets.

Public records and insider communications revealed that Ocean Springs’ then-City Attorney, Robert Wilkinson, had a financial interest in the company behind the program, despite also being tasked with providing the city legal advice on the program’s legality and implementation. The arrangement raised major ethical red flags and possible legal violations.

As the story unfolded, it became clear that political consultants like Josh Gregory, Wilkinson’s business partner, were also profiting through commissions tied to each ticket issued.

Further investigation showed that other cities across Mississippi were involved in similar contracts, with many using misleading tactics to pressure residents into compliance without the due process protections of a court. In one city, a municipal employee described a separate but similar program Wilkinson is linked to as holding “their own court… in the lobby.”

GC Wire’s reporting exposed the legal shortcuts, the financial ties, and the way public officials quietly converted government enforcement into private revenue streams.

Retaliation by Any Means Necessary

Within days of Rose’s first article, threats began to circulate — from political consultants, public officials, and private actors connected to the Securix operation. But the campaign to discredit and punish critics didn’t stop with journalists.

Josh Gregory, whose firm managed the re-election campaign of then-Mayor Kenny Holloway and held financial interests in the program, sent Rose a series of emails after his first article was published in the Ocean Springs Weekly Record.

“Given my involvement in Kenny’s race,” Gregory wrote, “I have a feeling that we will be dealing with each other frequently… We can have a respectable relationship, or I can turn it over to the lawyers to deal with you and your outlet. I’m good either way.”

More recently, Mississippi State Representative Trey Lamar, whom Rose linked to the Securix program in a May GC Wire exposé, demanded a retraction of factual reporting that detailed his indirect financial connections to the scandal. When Rose refused to retract the story, Lamar responded by publicly calling for an investigation into Rose himself.

The message was clear: expose the wrong people, and the system will turn its sights on you.

In a federal class action lawsuit, a woman named Amy Divine alleged that the Ocean Springs Securix program was unconstitutional. She became one of the first residents to legally challenge the system in court. Then, she quickly became a target.

Emails obtained by GC Wire suggest that Wilkinson had secretly coordinated with Securix attorneys to pursue criminal charges against Ms. Divine after she filed her lawsuit. According to the emails, Gulfport attorney Tim Holleman, who was representing Securix at the time, explicitly asked Wilkinson to “consider charging Ms. Divine,” suggesting she had violated the company’s “diversion program.”

Wilkinson agreed.

“I have Robert to make sure the city charges Ms. Divine,” Holleman told Securix executives in a follow-up email. “I have spoken to Robert [and] he is meeting with the Judge and police chief next week… hopefully charging Divine.”

Despite publicly claiming to have recused himself due to a conflict of interest, Wilkinson appeared to remain deeply involved in the program’s operations, including efforts to punish legal opponents. Emails spanning two years show him directing policy, coordinating with judges and police, and acting as both City Attorney and a de facto representative for Securix.

Securix is no longer represented by Wilkinson or Holleman and has since severed ties with both attorneys.

The Fight for Accountability

By June, the pattern was undeniable. From political threats and behind-the-scenes smear campaigns to attempts to weaponize law enforcement and the court system, those in power didn’t just dislike the reporting, they wanted to silence it.

In response, Rose filed a federal lawsuit against Robert Wilkinson and multiple city officials, alleging a coordinated campaign of retaliation in violation of his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit outlines a series of actions, both overt and covert, aimed at punishing protected journalistic activity and intimidating the press.

“The public has a right to know what their government is doing behind closed doors,” Rose said. “If that makes some people uncomfortable, they’re in the wrong business.”