Colom, Hyde-Smith battle reaches another low in MS. Youth photo questioned

• Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's campaign created a website attacking her opponent, Scott Colom, which features a pixelated mugshot of him.
• Colom stated the arrest occurred when he was a high school senior for staying out past curfew with a friend.
• The Clarion Ledger could not independently confirm the authenticity of the mugshot or the associated 2001 arrest report.
• The contentious race has seen both candidates create attack websites and use insulting nicknames for each other.

A few weeks out from the Nov. 3 U.S. Senate election in Mississippi, incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith dropped a photo on a fake website taking aim at her opponent, district attorney Scott Colom.

The site, named 'ColomForSenate.com' to look affiliated with Colom, instead attacks the district attorney's record and his connections with "liberal figures" such as fellow Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas.

Visitors to the website are met with a pop-up of what appears to be a pixelated arrest mugshot of a young Colom. There is no caption on the picture, and there is no written explanation accompanying the photo on the website. A spokesperson for Hyde-Smith's campaign did not respond to questions from the Clarion Ledger in time for the publication of this story.

The photo and subsequent reporting on it leave some lingering questions that have yet to be resolved just two weeks ahead of the election.

Is the Colom photo real?

The Clarion Ledger cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the mugshot on Hyde-Smith's website. A request sent to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office for all arrest reports and mugshots connected with Colom was not fulfilled before the publication of this story.

“It’s laughably ironic that the one person in this race producing AI-generated ads, while complaining about data centers nonetheless, is now standing behind false claims about AI to hide an arrest record,” said Hyde-Smith Campaign Manager Jake Monssen. “However, what is really criminal is not Scott Colom’s mugshot, it’s his failed record as a Soros-funded prosecutor who allowed violent crime to double under his watch as District Attorney.  And more than that, it’s his advocacy for life-altering, irreversible sex change surgeries for children.”

The image on Hyde-Smith's website was taken from the front. A version of the photo taken from the side, along with what appears to be an arrest report, were published by the Magnolia Tribune on Oct. 16.

The March 2001 arrest report, which misspells Colom's last name as "Colon," is attributed by the Magnolia Tribune to "sources with state law enforcement and the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office." According to the document, Colom was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor that can result in a fine of up to $1,000 or a year in county jail.

The document identifies Colom as a then-18-year-old student at Columbus High School. It does not explain the cause for the arrest or any actions that may have been taken afterward.

The backstory of the picture

Colom and his campaign are treating the arrest report and the mugshot as two separate elements, although a spokesperson clarified that the campaign cannot independently verify the authenticity of either.

The explanation for the arrest is simple, Colom wrote in an Oct. 19 statement provided to the Clarion Ledger.

"When I was a high school senior, one of my friends and I stayed out past curfew. That's it," Colom wrote.

Columbus, like many other cities in Mississippi, has at times enacted a curfew for minors. The arrest report published by the Magnolia Tribune places Colom's time of arrest around 12:30 a.m.

Colom dismissed the image and report as Hyde-Smith's "attempt to divide and distract" ahead of the Nov. 3 election, her third campaign for the U.S. Senate.

A campaign spokesperson also emphasized that Colom was vetted by several law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice, when he was nominated for a federal judge position in Northern Mississippi. Though he gained the support of some Republicans such as Sen. Roger Wicker, Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination until it stalled.

Down to the wire on Mississippi's Senate race

The final weeks before the election between Colom and Hyde-Smith have grown increasingly contentious.

Both candidates have created websites attacking each other's records in office, and they have coined insulting nicknames for each other. Colom commonly refers to his opponent as "Cindy High Prices" because he says she doesn't care about lowering prices for consumers; Hyde-Smith has described him as the "transgender defender" and claimed he is in favor of gender-affirming surgeries for minors.

Colom's grassroots campaigning, and recent polls putting him within the margin of error behind the Republican incumbent, have attracted several notable politicians to the state. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., have stumped on his behalf in recent weeks. Former Vice President Kamala Harris will speak in his native Columbus on Oct. 22.

Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics, including the ups and downs of the U.S. Senate race between Hyde-Smith and Colom, since the start of 2026. Email her at [email protected].