Six white former law enforcement officers from Mississippi, known as the "Goon Squad," have pleaded guilty to federal civil rights offenses after a disturbing incident in which they raided a home and brutally attacked two Black men. The officers, including five former members of the Rankin County Sheriff's Office and one former Richland police officer, appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to charges including assault, civil rights conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.

According to court documents, on January 24, the officers forcibly entered a home in Braxton without a warrant. They handcuffed the two men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, and proceeded to assault them with tasers, beat them, and subject them to racial slurs. The officers had brought sex toys, firearms, stun guns, milk, eggs, alcohol, and chocolate syrup with them during the raid.

During the approximately 90-minute attack, the officers poured milk, alcohol, and chocolate syrup over the victims' faces and forced them to strip naked and shower to remove evidence. They also tased the victims multiple times to test the electric currents of their respective law enforcement agencies. In addition, two of the officers, Daniel Opdyke and Christian Dedmon, assaulted the victims with sex toys. Hunter Elward shoved a gun into Jenkins' mouth and fired, causing severe injuries.

The officers did not provide any medical aid to Jenkins, instead discussing a cover-up plan involving fabricated charges and planting evidence. Court documents revealed that the officers referred to themselves as the “Goon Squad” due to their willingness to use excessive force without reporting it.

The incident was sparked by a complaint from a white neighbor who claimed that Black individuals were staying at the home with a white woman. The officers used racist slurs against the victims during the raid. The victims, identified as M.J. and E.P. in court documents, have since filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking $400 million in damages.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced in June that all five deputies involved in the attack had been fired or resigned. Bailey described the incident as the "most horrible incident of police brutality" he had encountered in his career and expressed shame that it occurred under his department's watch.

The former officers have been charged with conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, among other charges. If convicted, they face maximum sentences ranging from 80 to 120 years in prison, along with substantial fines.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned the actions of the officers, stating that they had "tortured and inflicted unspeakable harm on their victims" and "egregiously violated the civil rights of citizens who they were supposed to protect."

The officers are scheduled to plead guilty to state charges of assault, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice in the coming days.