Misuse of Power: Black Woman Dragged Out of Mississippi Church by Police
- Ghetto Philosopher
- Jul 14
- 7 min read
Analysis: Criminalization of Black Sacred Spaces Isn’t New—It’s Rebranded
INTRODUCTION
In the Deep South, where the blood of Civil Rights martyrs still stains church pews and pulpit steps, another chilling incident has emerged. This time in Jackson, Mississippi—a city with a majority-Black population and a long history of both resistance and repression. Video footage of a Black woman being physically dragged from Word of Faith Christian Center by police officers has gone viral, sparking national outrage. Her name is Allie Thompson, and her offense? Attempting to worship in a church her family helped build.
This wasn’t just a disruption. It was a desecration.
The image of police violating the sanctity of a Black church evokes the trauma of Birmingham bombings, COINTELPRO infiltration, and more recently, armed Capitol Police expansion in Jackson under House Bill 1020. That law gave state-level police authority over parts of the city—without local control. The question ain’t just why this happened, but why it keeps happening in our spaces: churches, schools, barbershops, even our own block parties.
This moment matters because it forces us to confront how anti-Black policing morphs. From firehoses to chokeholds, from jailhouse shuffles to church draggings—same system, different disguise.
BODY
A New Jim Crow in the House of the Lord
On Sunday, June 15th, Fathers Day, Allie Thompson was escorted, then forcibly removed from Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Scott County while attending service. Police officers responded to a trespassing call filed by church leadership—her own former congregation. Thompson had been reportedly banned due to a property dispute, but no public record of violent behavior or danger has been cited.
Footage shows uniformed officers dragging her by the arms across the sanctuary floor. Her only visible "weapon"? A Bible.
“When they laid hands on her, they laid hands on all of us. The church ain’t a battlefield—it’s supposed to be a refuge,” said Addie Johnson, a member of a nearby AME congregation who witnessed the incident.
State Power, Local People, No Justice
Mississippi lawmakers recently passed House Bill 1020, expanding the jurisdiction of Capitol Police into Jackson neighborhoods, including places of worship. Unlike city police, Capitol Police are appointed, not elected, and report directly to the state Department of Public Safety—not the city or mayor.
This isn’t abstract. Jackson’s Capitol Police have been under fire for multiple civilian shootings, high-speed pursuits through residential neighborhoods, and refusal to release bodycam footage. Now their reach extends into private Black spaces—including this church.
“This is what we mean by state overreach. They don’t need probable cause when they already see your skin as suspicion,” said Jamal Gaines, a Jackson-based organizer with Mississippi Rising Coalition.
Why the CCID Expansion Harms Black People & Policing
1. Erosion of Local Accountability
No oversight by the mayor or city council. The Capitol Police report to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and ultimately the Governor—not to Jackson’s mayor or city council—meaning there is no democratic accountability over how they police Black neighborhoods.
Dangerous shift in power. Despite Jackson being 79% Black, the Capitol Police answer only to state-appointed leaders, dominated by Whites, with no electoral relationship to the communities they patrol .
2. Appointed, Not Elected: A Democratic Deficit
Parallel policing, parallel courts. Along with police jurisdiction, HB 1020 (via CCID) created courts with appointed judges and prosecutors, bypassing locally elected authorities. Both are selected by a white-majority state apparatus, disenfranchising Black Jackson residents.
“Apartheid” and “plantation politics”. Mayor Lumumba, Black civic groups, and civil rights advocates described the move as “apartheid,” “colonialist” and “Jim Crow 2.0”.
3. Racialized Police Violence & Impunity
Spike in State Police shootings. After expanding patrols, Capitol Police were involved in “more than a dozen shootings last year”—a higher rate than any agency in the metro area.
Lack of transparency. In the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Black man Jaylen Lewis, the department withheld video or official reports, refusing to engage with his grieving mother.
Proactive policing by default. Capitol Police Chief described the tactic as “proactive policing”—a strategy critics say is a euphemism for aggressive over-policing in Black communities.
4. Racial & Political Disempowerment
Majority-Black city, no Black power. Jackson is approximately 78.6% Black. Yet the CCID’s judiciary and police leadership remain selected by an overwhelmingly White state structure.
Resource grab, not safety. Critics argue this isn't about combating crime—it’s about the state grabbing control over a Black city with different political views, undermining local voices and priorities.
Historical Echoes: From Birmingham to Jackson
We’ve seen this script before.
1963: The bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham by white supremacists killed four little girls during Sunday school.
1967: Detroit police raided the Algiers Motel, executing Black men during a crackdown.
2020: NYPD stormed a peaceful Black Lives Matter gathering at a Brooklyn church, arresting medics and clergy.
2023: Alabama police arrested a Black pastor for watering flowers on his own church property, falsely accused of trespassing.
This is a pattern, not a coincidence. The criminalization of Black existence—and especially collective Black spaces—remains one of America’s deepest sins.
Key Takeaways: The Perils of This Model
👤 Profile: Mrs. Allie Thompson
Name: Allie Thompson
Age: Church Mother (likely in her 70s or 80s; exact birthdate not disclosed)
Role: Longtime member and Sunday school teacher at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Scott County, MS
🌿 Connection to the Church
Foundational presence: Thompson has been an “elderly” and faithful member, teaching Sunday school for decades and welcoming new congregants—“a faithful warrior” in the ministry.
Advocate for governance: She pushed back when church leadership, led by Pastor Charles Bell, appointed a finance committee without congregational vote. Thompson claimed this bypassed established bylaws—concerns rooted in accountability, not rebellion.
Family investment: Her husband served as the church’s “oldest man and deacon.” Thompson has emphasized his sudden exclusion from decision-making, asserting their family legacy and stake in church affairs.
⚖️ Legal Dispute and Court Action
Restraining order & injunction: In October 2024, church leadership (via Mt. Olive Church) obtained a court order against Thompson and six others after an alleged September altercation that hospitalized a deacon. The church cited verbal and physical threats toward leadership.
Thompson’s denial: She has consistently denied involvement, writing to the church’s legal counsel, “All the preachers … will tell you that I have been a faithful warrior,” highlighting her long-standing positive impact on the congregation.
📆 Incident Overview
Father’s Day confrontation: On June 15, 2025, reports and video footage show deputies forcibly removing Thompson from the "mother’s board" section during Sunday service at Mt. Olive M.B. Church. Deputies claimed she and others violated the 2024 court order by attending service.
Physical response: Footage depicts deputies twisting Thompson's arm and dragging her to the floor and out of the sanctuary. She can be heard exclaiming, “You're hurting me!”—a reflection of both shock and pain.
🌟 Why It Matters
Thompson’s story centers Black generational investment in church life—a sacred space historically pivotal for worship, community cohesion, education, and resistance. Her exclusion and forced removal puncture the notion that internal disputes should be handled within the church family.
It exposes a disturbing trend: using court orders and police to resolve deeply internal church issues.
Her resistance—speaking up for transparency and inclusion—clashes with centralized leadership styles and spotlights how authority can silence elders and those asking for accountability.
Legal Smoke Screens and Qualified Silence
The restraining order against Thompson reportedly stems from a civil dispute, but many are questioning how it escalated to violent removal from a sacred space. No effort was made to de-escalate, mediate, or even delay the arrest until after service.
Civil rights attorney Deidra Owens calls it a “gross misuse of judicial process.”
“Restraining orders should not be carte blanche for violent removals in the absence of threat or disruption. Worshipping in silence is not a crime,” she said.
Qualified immunity may shield these officers, especially under Mississippi’s conservative court system. But lawsuits are expected. The ACLU has requested footage and legal filings.
Community Response and the Role of the Church
Black clergy are split. Some church leaders defended the decision, citing “internal conflict and safety concerns.” Others called for repentance.
“There’s a cost when Black churches side with state power over Black lives. That cost is our credibility,”said Rev. Samuel Curtis, an interfaith chaplain and organizer in Jackson.
Local activists are demanding a review of Capitol Police’s authority over private property and religious institutions. Some are calling for a churchwide audit of law enforcement relationships and policies.
Meanwhile, Thompson's family has vowed to file a civil suit.
Solutions and Next Steps
This moment can’t just end with a trending hashtag. It must birth demands.
Policy demands:
Repeal or amend HB 1020 to remove Capitol Police jurisdiction over churches and private institutions.
Mandate bodycams and independent civilian review boards.
Limit the use of restraining orders as pretexts for arrest in religious settings.
Church reform:
Develop sanctuary protocols that prioritize mediation before law enforcement.
Educate congregants on civil rights and legal protections within worship spaces.
Establish internal accountability systems for leadership decisions.
Movement action:
Boycotts of churches complicit in criminalizing Black members.
Town halls hosted at neutral churches to rebuild trust.
Faith-based coalitions to monitor and report police-church interactions.
CONCLUSION
Mississippi’s CCID police map isn’t just lines on a page—it’s a blueprint for undemocratic control over Black life. It arms the state with tools to criminalize, surveil, and dominate without backlash. And all this, in the name of combating crime in a city they’ve systematically under-resourced. That’s not protection—it’s colonization.
If Black Jacksoners can’t vote for the judges or fire the cops policing them, then who’s freedom is this “justice” defending?
Allie Thompson being dragged out of church is not an isolated event. It’s a warning.
The policing of Black life doesn’t pause for prayer. It doesn’t knock before entering sacred spaces. And when Black churches call on the state to handle family matters, we risk becoming the enforcers of our own oppression.
It’s time to reclaim the sanctuary. From state overreach. From cowardly leadership. From violence dressed in legal robes.
Because if they can drag a woman out of church today, they can drag our children out of schools tomorrow. And by then, the silence will be complicit.
Future Outlook
The lawsuit ahead may bring national attention, but real change will only come if we organize around the policies and spaces that define us. Mississippi is the battlefield. But this fight is bigger than one state—it’s about who we are allowed to be when we gather, worship, grieve, and rise.
CALL TO ACTION
Don’t let this pass. Flood Jackson officials with calls. Demand HB 1020 reform. Support legal defense funds for those criminalized in sacred spaces. And if you’re part of a Black church, ask your pastor: What side of this are we on?
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