MISSISSIPPI: Tea Party Leader Arrested In Nursing Home Photo Scandal

A Mississippi Tea Party leader and two other men have been arrested for conspiring to take a photo of GOP Sen. Thad Conchran's wife, who is under care for Alzheimer's in an adult treatment facility. Last week a blogger was arrested for taking the photo.

Authorities say the vice chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party and two other men conspired with Clayton Kelly to photograph U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's bedridden wife in her nursing home and create a political video against Cochran. Mark Mayfield of Ridgeland, an attorney and state and local tea party leader, was arrested Thursday along with Richard Sager, a Laurel elementary school P.E. teacher and high school soccer coach. Police said they also charged John Beachman Mary of Hattiesburg, but he was not taken into custody because of "extensive medical conditions." All face felony conspiracy charges. Sager also was charged with felony tampering with evidence, and Mary faces two conspiracy counts. The arrest of Mayfield, well-known in political, business and legal circles, caused shock in Mississippi, in a criminal case and election that already had Mississippi in the national spotlight.

RELATED: You'd think the teabaggers would back off of Cochran in light of this scandal, but yesterday the Koch brothers' FreedomWorks posted an ad which "exposes" Cochran because he once said something nice about President Obama.