OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Friday said that he would expand the investigation of the four McCurtain County officials who were recorded making threats and racist comments by a newspaper publisher.
Drummond made the announcement in a letter to Governor Kevin Stitt.
In the letter, Drummond said he asked the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to expand the investigation requested by Stitt in late April. At that time the governor asked Drummond and the OSBI to investigate McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix.
Stitt made the request after a recording of the four surfaced. On that record the group used racist language and bemoaned the fact Black residents could no longer be lynched, disparaged the victim of a fatal house fire and discussed beating, killing and burying McCurtain County Gazette Publisher Bruce Willingham and his son, Chris.
“I wrote to inform you that today, I have asked the OSBI to expand the investigation you directed it to undertake to include wrongdoing that could trigger the application of 22 OS 1181 which sets forth eight potential grounds for removal,” Drummond wrote. “I believe it is the best interest of justice to determine if there are grounds to proceed under this removal statue, which is broader than the ouster statute you cited.”
Under Title 22, elected officials not subject to impeachment can be removed from office for eight reasons outlined in the law, including neglect of duty, knowingly giving false testimony to a committee of either House of the Legislature, gross partiality in office, oppression, corruption, extortion, maladministration, habitual drunkenness and failure to produce and account for all public funds and property…or any settlement or inspection authorized or required by law.
Drummond’s letter comes just a few days after the McCurtain County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to suspend Hendrix, the jail administrator. Hendrix was suspended with pay, pending the results of the OSBI’s investigation.
Prior to Hendrix’s suspension, Commissioner Jennings resigned from office.
On April 23 Drummond told the Rotary Club of Sand Springs that his office had been investigating McCurtain County officials for several weeks.
“There is something rotten in McCurtain County,” Drummond said. “It’s that old-school lack of transparency and accountability. There’s a lot of mischief going on in the county government of McCurtain County. We had our eye on one guy and all of a sudden, this broke.”
Records show that Mark Matloff, the District Attorney for Choctaw, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties contacted the AG’s office about problems with Clardy and the county commissioners on at least six difference occasions.
In addition to the letter to Stitt, Drummond wrote OSBI Director Aungela Spurlock making the request to expand the McCurtain County investigation. “Civilians’ trust in their local law enforcement is of the utmost importance to ensure the safety and well-being of all Oklahoma citizens,” the AG wrote.
The release of the audio recording has generated a firestorm of stories in media outlets across the globe and harsh reactions from state leaders. Idabel Mayor Craig Young has urged Clardy, Manning and Hendrix to resign.
The incident has drawn international media attention and scrutiny. Media outlets across the nation and in other countries have published stories about the recording and several national groups, including the NAACP, have sent representatives to southeastern Oklahoma to monitor the situation.