U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s has moved her office from downtown Jackson to nearby Madison County. The new space is located at the Renaissance Colony Park in Ridgeland, a sprawling, high-end campus. The previous office was at the Pinnacle building on Capitol Street in Jackson.
At least nine grassroots organizers rallied in front of Hyde-Smith’s new office space Friday. Some were there to protest the move. Others were excited to see how the new space worked for their demonstrations.
Shamira Muhammad
A tiny protest draws curiosity and confusion
Almost immediately, security officers from the building housing Hyde-Smith’s office told protesters they would need to move away from the building. Phones came out as the demonstrators checked to see what rights they had in this new location.
Although these protesters have been demonstrating outside the Senator’s former downtown Jackson location since February, it was obvious Ridgeland property is different. The demonstrators quickly researched noise ordinances for the area. Curious passersby looked genuinely perplexed to see protest signs and a small drum.
In a statement posted to Hyde-Smith’s website, she says quote “We listened to feedback from constituents and moved to a location that provides greater convenience for those who come to us for assistance.”
Heidi Barnett has been protesting at rallies in front of Hyde-Smith’s former office building for the past several months.
“I think she's sending a very, very wrong signal and message to the constituents and residents of the state of Mississippi and in Jackson,” she said. “She says she wants to be closer to her constituents and more available, but she couldn't have been closer and more, well, she could have been available, she made herself not available downtown. So I think she's hiding out up here. She thinks she's gonna just hide out in a building upstairs, but it's her job to talk to her constituents, her job to listen.”
Barnett also believes earlier demonstrations were not just about getting a response from the senator. The organizers have failed to secure a meeting with either Sen. Hyde-Smith or Sen. Roger Wicker.
“When we come out, it's an awareness of things that she's voting for, things she's standing up for, what we stand up for as her constituents, what we believe in” Barnett said. “I just came back from D.C. It's really important, I found, for people in other states to see that there are progressives here in the state of Mississippi that are standing up to what is right and what we believe in.”
Instead, Barnett says she wants to raise awareness of issues like access to health care, the threat of Mississippi hospital closures and the implications of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” into public spaces.
“Cindy Hyde-Smith voted for that,” Barnett said. “She supported it. Right now, today, currently, 23 hospitals in the state of Mississippi are in jeopardy of closing down. 200,000 residents in the State of Mississippi are in jeopardy of losing their health care. The ripple effect that that will have on everybody, and not just people who don't have money or people who are poor, no. It is every single resident and citizen in the State of Mississippi.”
In another statement from her website, Hyde-Smith says quote “Senate Republicans have been clear that failure was not an option when it came to passing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. From the start, I’ve understood that the people of Mississippi and our nation needed a permanent extension of the President’s 2017 tax cuts, which generated economic growth, stability, and opportunities for families, small businesses, and hardworking Americans. This legislation is not perfect, but it is a bold step toward forcing greater efficiency, savings, and accountability from our federal government.”
Some demonstrators welcomed the change of office venue. Kathleen O'Beirne, a demonstrator who refers to herself as a concerned citizen, says the new office is more convenient.
“I think it's great,” she said. “It's easier for me to get here personally. I think its easier for a lot of other people to get to and look at all these cars! Cars are driving by, they're honking at us. They're waving at us. I mean, not everybody's excited to see us, but it's just a pleasantly surprising amount of positive attention that we're getting being out here. So I'm super glad that she moved out here. I think it's fabulous. I don't know why she did move, I don't know what the reason was but this works great for me.”
One bystander asked MPB News why the protest was happening, saying demonstrations “don’t happen” in this area.
A rally aiming to speak out against the Trump administration will be held at the state capitol building in Jackson, October 18.