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At a press conference on Monday about support for the National Committee for the Right to Life, Governor Phil Bryant and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith were asked questions about Hyde-Smith's comments. on attending a hanging, captured in a video posted online Sunday.
Luke Ramseth

On July 27, 2017, Cindy Hyde-Smith, a member of the Mississippi Commission on Agriculture and Trade, speaks at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Missouri.(Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP)

WASHINGTON – Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith attended a high school segregation academy and praised the attempts of a Confederate soldier to "defend his homeland," according to reports.

Reports, from the Jackson Free Press, an independent Mississippi newspaper, and CNN, are the latest attempts to associate the racist history of Mississippi to Hyde-Smith, in view of a second round of elections against the Democrat Mike Espy, who aims to become the first African-American state Senate since the reconstruction.

In recent weeks, Hyde-Smith has been criticized for a joke in which she stated that she would be happy to attend a "public hanging" and to be in the "front row". She was also filmed while making a joke about voter suppression. Photos posted on Facebook in 2014 show it with Confederate articles and a caption: "The Mississippi Story at Its Best!"

More: Cindy Hyde-Smith apologizes for this "suspended" comment and claims that her words were used as "weapon"

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Espy repeatedly stressed the comments while campaigning. Hyde-Smith apologized for the "suspended" comments during a debate earlier this week and qualified the comments for deleting the vote as "joking".

However, persistent reports have drawn national attention to the race in the second round, which should result in above-average turnout. President Donald Trump is planning numerous rallies next week before the elections to help lock another Republican seat in the Senate after major losses in the House have allowed the Democrats to take control of their country.

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The Jackson Free Press reported Friday that Hyde-Smith had attended Lawrence County Academy, a school founded in 1970, the year of the integration of several public high schools in Mississippi.

The free press reported that the school was created for parents who did not want to send their children to schools with black students. The diary included photos from the school's yearbook, including a group photo of the cheerleading team, of which Hyde-Smith was a member.

The photo shows the school's mascot dressed in what appears to be a Confederate uniform wearing a Confederate flag.

Hyde-Smith campaign spokeswoman Melissa Scallan responded to the report by stating, "On their last attempt to help Mike Espy, the liberal media conquered their senses. They collapsed to a new minimum, attacking her entire family and trying to destroy her personally instead of focusing on the clear differences on the issues between Cindy Hyde-Smith and her far-left opponent.

On Saturday, another report analyzed Hyde-Smith's work as legislator and revealed that she had already praised a Confederate soldier for his "defense of his homeland" work. CNN reports that as a state senator in 2007, Hyde-Smith co-sponsored a resolution that paid tribute to Effie Lucille Nicholson Pharr, whose father was a soldier in Robert E's army. Lee.

According to the resolution, his father "was beaten to defend his country and helped rebuild the country," CNN reported.

Contribution: Associated Press

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