OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – Days after GC Wire exposed the City of Ocean Springs for secretly – and illegally – recording residents inside City Hall using unmarked audio surveillance devices, Mayor Kenny Holloway announced the city would now post a sign alerting visitors that their conversations are being recorded. Then threatened to eject the journalist who exposed the controversy.
“We ordered a sign,” the mayor said at Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting — his only public acknowledgment of a years-long surveillance practice that legal experts say likely violated both state and federal law.
There was no apology to residents. No admission of fault. Just a dismissive, last-minute assurance that a sign — made “in-house” — was on the way.
This sudden policy shift was announced after a pointed exchange between this reporter and the Board of Aldermen.
While posting a sign may bring the city into legal compliance moving forward, it does nothing to erase the years of unlawful surveillance that occurred without notice — and it does not shield the city from potential liability for past violations.
GC Wire first exposed the controversy last week in an article titled “City Hall is Bugged: Unmarked Listening Devices Confirmed in Public Spaces.”
Mayor Deflects, Plays Victim
Rather than apologize for surveilling the public without their knowledge, Mayor Holloway attempted to play the victim, stating: “I’ve been recorded without my knowledge, too.”
He was referring to a separate and entirely lawful incident in which a city employee, Carter Thompson, recorded him while she was a party to the conversation — a completely legal act under Mississippi law.
When this reporter pointed out the difference — that Holloway is a public official and can legally be recorded — the mayor cut off the exchange with a sharp retort:
“I know what I am, and you’re out of time.”
Secret Recordings, Illegal Under Mississippi Law
The devices, which recorded audio in common areas were active for years without any signage, notice, or public policy outlining their use. That raises major legal concerns under Mississippi’s one-party consent law.
Under the law, at least one party in a recorded conversation must be aware it is being recorded. But the City’s system recorded conversations between residents — many of them private citizens conversing with other citizens — without either party’s knowledge or consent.
This is a critical distinction. The city was not a party to most of these conversations. The devices were passively recording third parties, which is exactly the kind of eavesdropping the law prohibits.
Mayor Threatens to Eject Reporter after Exchange with City Clerk
City Clerk Patty Gaston followed the mayor’s remarks by attempting to claim that audio wasn’t working or hadn’t been reviewed. But she quickly contradicted herself — admitting in the same conversation that she had personally reviewed footage, knew which devices captured clear audio, and that certain recordings had been retrieved at the request of staff.
When addressed by Gaston, I stood to respond, only to be ordered to sit by the mayor – though there is no rule that attendees must sit during public meetings. The exchange between Gaston and this reporter led to a tongue lashing from the mayor and chief of police, as well as a threat of ejection.
Listen to that exchange here:
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What she didn’t know is that this reporter had already recorded a phone call with her the day prior, where she described which surveillance mic was the clearest, how the city doesn’t turn the system off at night, and how audio is only reviewed when someone asks for it — confirming both the system’s functionality and the city’s lax controls over access.
On a May 30 call with Gaston, she explained some of the audio recording devices do not produce quality recordings, but the one near the water department counter does. This happens to be where residents gather and chat after meetings. A table and chairs is set up to help facilitate those gatherings — under the one working audio recording device.
You can listen to that exchange here:
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On June 2nd, GC Wire emailed Ms. Gaston the following: “Have you ever personally viewed or listened to any audio recordings made by these devices? If so, how approximately many times. Also, do you know of other employees or officials who have accessed the recordings? If so, who are they?”
The City Clerk did not respond to the email.
Silence from the Local Press
Like so many well-documented scandals in Ocean Springs — from illegal ticketing schemes to retaliation against the press — this one was met with total silence from local media outlets.
None of the local TV stations or newspapers covered the city’s admission that it had been recording residents for years without notice. They didn’t ask about the legal implications. They didn’t demand accountability.
Instead, they stuck to the usual fare: ribbon cuttings, crime blotters, and restaurant reviews.
This isn’t the first time GC Wire’s reporting has resulted in policy changes or public pushback. And once again, while other outlets sat quietly on the sidelines, we did the work they wouldn’t touch.
No apology.
No investigation.
Just: “We ordered a sign.”
Well Ocean Springs, you made wise decisions by voting many of your incumbents OUT the main one you should be glad to be rid of is your FORMER mayor Holloway. You new mayor takes office in July so not too long from now which probably cannot be soon enough for the City of Ocean Springs.