A former Ku Klux Klan leader who torched a church in 1991 has lost his lawsuit accusing Mississippi county of unfairly shutting him out of a construction project.

Brian Tackett of Tackett Excavating in Southaven sued Coahoma County in December after a water line project was awarded to someone who bid almost $100,000 more.

Tackett claimed he was passed over based on his crime and past association with the KKK.

Coahoma County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Thomas ruled against him this past week.

Thomas says the supervisors acted within reason when they accepted the second lowest bid for the project.

Tackett says it was a youthful mistake when he burned a white Kentucky church and spent nearly 12 years in prison.