Billy McGee is the sheriff of Forrest County, Mississippi, (county seat is Hattiesburg). He gained nationwide popularity for working against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He is considered to be a Robin Hood figure by the majority of the citizens of Forrest County. He is held as one of the greatest of Mississippi's public servants for his actions after Hurricane Katrina.
In the afternoon of September 4, 2005, Sheriff McGee sent three deputies to the FEMA Distribution Center co-located at Camp Shelby. They asked the coordinator why the trucks weren't moving out and the coordinator told them that the trucks were headed for the Mississippi Gulf Coast and that the eleven ice drop-off points in Forrest County had not been set up yet. The deputies immediately commandeered two semi-trucks and their drivers and started to move out. U.S. Army Captain Michael Bryant climbed on the step of one of the trucks and tried to talk to the driver. The deputies removed him from the truck and handcuffed him. The deputies then carried Bryant to the county jail and arrested him for disorderly conduct and interference with a police officer. He was returned to Camp Shelby within the hour. CPT Bryant claimed he sustained injuries to his hands, arms, face, and shoulder. He also claimed he sustained nerve damage to his hands from the handcuffs being too tight. The trucks were taken to two communities that had been without a working water system since the storm hit almost a week earlier.
Sheriff Billy McGee is being charged with interfering with, intimidating and impeding a federal officer. The three deputies involved are all facing federal felony charges.
He was scheduled to plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge in a plea agreement with U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. Mr. Lampton, however, has recused himself and the case has been transferred to the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
As of April 2006, Forrest County law enforcement officers are not allowed onto Camp Shelby property.
McGee was re-elected sheriff of Forrest County on November 6, 2007 by almost 90% of the voters in Forrest County.