May 22, 2025
Holly Springs Police say officers have been called out to C.J. Lounge close to 30 times in three months.
A night at a Mississippi bar and lounge turned violent after a white man was stripped of his clothes and beaten after he directed a barrage of N-words toward patrons, Fox 13 reports.
The May 17 incident occurred at C.J. Lounge in Marshall County. Witnesses say the unidentified man walked into the venue and began using the “N-word” about African-American customers.
Video secured by the Holly Springs Police Department showed the man from Tippah County being stripped of his clothes and then being attacked. Witness Miles Stone said it didn’t have to go that far, as fellow patrons were trying to ignore the man, remaining calm.
“The guy walked in, and he was very aggressive,” Stone remembered. “Other guys in the area were listening, trying to remain calm. They asked him to leave quietly.”
As law enforcement is investigating to determine if the attack can be labeled as a hate crime, Stone said that once the man went outside, the racial slurs continued. “When they were scuffling outside, he was still using the N-word: ‘F you N’s, f you N’s,” the witness said.
Officers claim the attackers used poles and sticks to beat the man. He was later taken to a hospital, where police told Fox 13 he was treated for a broken jaw and other injuries.
“The victim, unfortunately, his jaw busted open, his eye busted. He’s just in a terrible state of mind right now,” Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Colonel McMillen said, according to WREG. “We’re trying to adopt some search warrants, get those done, and see if we can retrieve information from those social media accounts.”
Holly Springs’ police chief, whose name was not given by Fox 13, feels the popular nighttime hotspot is a problem. Officers have been called out to C.J’s close to 30 times in the past three months. Officers say they’ve responded to fights, guns found inside, and a man being shot in the foot. The chief pushing for the district attorney to declare it a nuisance.
Days after the incident, sources said the business closed due to operating without a beer or business license.
Stone, who also serves as a part-time DJ and security guard for the lounge, disagrees, saying this incident is a simple case of living with the consequences of your actions. “I’m not standing for anything like that. However, we have to live with our choices, and he made the choice to go in there aggressively, and he has to live with the choice he’s made.”
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