34-Year-Old Mississippi’s First Openly-Gay Mayoral Candidate Found Dead

Marco McMillian
Marco McMillian

Many with the ambition of holding public offices wouldn’t come out to say they are gay as it may hurt their campaign as they could lose the votes everyone who has something against homosexuality, but Marco was ready to defy the odds as he hoped to become Mississippi’s first openly-gay elected official but all of Marco McMillian’s ambition screeched to a shocking halt last week with his mysterious murder.

The 34-year-old mayoral candidate was poised to Mississippi’s first openly-gay elected official. As a non-profit consultant, scholar and public servant, McMillian announced his mayoral bid last month and pushed forth his extensive dreams to help out his state and his native Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Sadly, Marco McMillian was found dead near a levee between Sherard and Rena Lara, Miss., according to the Coahama County coroner. His SUV collided with another vehicle on U.S. Highway 49 Tuesday morning, but McMillian wasn’t in the car when authorities arrived. Authorities didn’t find the body until they located his body more than a dozen miles from the accident.

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His body was beaten, dragged and set afire in the brutal murder last week, said his family in a statement issued late Sunday.

“We feel this was not a random act of violence based on the condition of the body when it was found,” the McMillian family said. “Marco, nor anyone, should have their lives end in this manner.”

Authorities are investigating McMillian’s death as a homicide and have pinpointed a person of interest. That person’s name hasn’t been released and further details are scarce.

McMillian’s campaign’s Facebook page is full of condolences from Clarksville residents and close friends. The last update of that page reads, “We remember Marco as a bold and passionate public servant, whose faith informed every aspect of his life.”

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