Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Halting Unlawful Impeachment Proceedings Against Black Lilbourn City Collector

Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Halting Unlawful Impeachment Proceedings Against Black Lilbourn City Collector

By - August 27, 2025

Judge Rules in Favor of Elected Official, Blocks City’s Retaliatory Actions

New Madrid County, Missouri – July 24, 2025 – The Circuit Court of New Madrid County today granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in favor of Virgie M. Johnson, a Black woman, the duly elected City Collector of Lilbourn, Missouri, effectively halting all impeachment proceedings against her pending further court review. A court hearing is set for August 29.

The Court’s order restrains and enjoins the City of Lilbourn, Mayor Robert Taylor, the Board of Aldermen, City Clerk Sharon Jackson, Alderperson Cynthia Dodd, City Attorney Charles Lieble, and all persons acting in concert with them from proceeding with any impeachment or removal actions against Johnson who alleges she has been targeted based on her race.

“This is a victory not just for Ms. Johnson, but for the voters of Lilbourn who elected her to serve,” said Michele Webb, President of the Butler County NAACP. “The Court recognized that these impeachment proceedings were completely improper. In our view, they are nothing more than a racist attempt to remove the only black elected official in Lilbourn.”

Johnson, who has served as City Collector since 2020 and was most recently re-elected in April 2024, filed the lawsuit alleging that city officials violated Missouri statutes, the state’s Sunshine Law, and her constitutional rights in their attempt to remove her from office.

Johnson, who is the only elected African American woman in Lilbourn city government, alleged that the impeachment effort was retaliation for her filing discrimination complaints and opposing allegedly unlawful practices by city officials. The petition details a pattern of racial harassment, physical assault, locking her out of her office, and discrimination since 2021, and retaliation following Johnson’s filing of discrimination complaints with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.

The lawsuit alleged that city officials failed to follow proper procedures under Missouri Revised Statute § 79.240, which requires specific written charges, proper notice, and fair hearing procedures for the removal of elected officials. Johnson’s petition also claimed violations of Missouri’s Sunshine Law, alleging that defendants held closed meetings to plan her removal.

“The voters of Lilbourn have spoken repeatedly – they elected Ms. Johnson in 2020, 2022, and again in 2024,” said Nimrod Chapel, Jr., attorney for Johnson. “They also rejected a ballot measure in April 2024 that would have converted her elected position to an appointed one. This Court order protects the will of the voters.”

The Court has scheduled a hearing on Johnson’s request for a preliminary injunction for August 29, 2025, at 10:00 AM, where the matter will receive further review.

Johnson expressed gratitude for the Court’s swift action: “I am relieved that the Court has recognized the serious constitutional and procedural violations in this case. I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of Lilbourn who elected me to this position.”

The case highlights broader issues of continued racial discrimination in the workplace and continues a long line of attempts to prevent Black elected officials from serving. A history of this kind of effort stretches all the way back to 1868 when Georgia expelled 33 newly elected legislators from their General Assembly because they were Black. Even as recently as 2023, newly Elected Mayor Patrick Braxton of Newbern, AL was locked out of City Hall and all of the City’s financial information by the previous Mayor and other city leaders.

President Webb summed up the issue with the following statement, “It is disturbing that we are still fighting the same fight as we were in 1868, but we are encouraged that the Courts will still stand on the side of the rule of law and equity.”