State's First Openly Gay Mayoral Candidate Found Dead in Mississippi

President Obama poses for a photo with Marco McMillian (to Obama's right) in this undated photo.

Marco McMillian, the man whose campaign spokesman, Jarod Keith, describes as "the first openly gay man to be a viable candidate for public office" in the state of Mississippi, was found dead near the Mississippi River Wednesday morning. The 34-year-old Democrat was running for the Mayor of Clarksdale, a legendary Blues town in the Delta.

The story gets stranger:

Marco McMillian.

"Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith said McMillian's body was found Wednesday morning near the levee between Sherard and Rena Lara. It was sent to Jackson for an autopsy.

Meredith said the case is being investigated as a homicide, but he declined to speculate on the cause of death. 

Authorities had been looking for McMillian since Tuesday morning when a man crashed the candidate's SUV into another vehicle on U.S. Highway 49. McMillian was not in the car. 

The suspect is recovering at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis from injuries sustained in Tuesday's crash, WREG-TV reports."

According to the Daily Mail, a person of interest has been taken into custody.

Godspeed to Clarksdale and to the family and friends of Marco McMillian.

Update: A spokesperson for McMillian's campaign told Mississippi activist Zach Magee that preliminary evidence is not showing signs of a hate crime. There's a little confusion here because, while federal law recognizes anti-LGBT hate crimes, Mississippi hate crimes law addresses "actual and perceived gender" but not sexual orientation. (Thanks @rnwilson on Twitter) So all this really tells us is that his death probably wasn't related to his skin color.

Thanks to Nathan in the comments below for posting the text of the state's law:

§ 99-19-301. Penalties subject to enhancement.

The penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be subject to enhancement as provided in Sections 99-19-301 through 99-19-307 if the felony or misdemeanor was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender of the victim.  

Sources: Laws, 1994, ch. 572, § 1, eff from and after July 1, 1994.