OKLAHOMA CITY – A politically-oriented nonprofit created by three officials from the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs was behind a series text messages sent to the wife of a state representative, social media posts and state records show.
Last Monday Rachel Moore, the wife of state Rep. Anthony Moore (R-Clinton) filed an emergency petition for a protective order in Custer County District Court. Moore filed protective orders against Johnathon Small, the OPCA’s president; Dave Bond, the OCPA’s vice president for advocacy; Ray Carter, the director of the OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism and Hallie Milner, the OCAP’s development and outreach coordinator.
The OCPA is a right-leaning think tank based in Oklahoma City.
Moore said she took the action because she received several text messages a week ago from an anonymous Google Voice number that “made all sorts of false accusations” and which she described as “threatening attacks.”
Mrs. Moore’s post said the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation had “confirmed the harassing and threatening text messages sent to my personal phone last week were sent by the staff of OCPA, hiding behind the name ‘People for Opportunity.’”
Monday evening the OSBI issued a statement which said the agency was reviewing the messages. “The OSBI takes any and all potential threats against public officials seriously. We are looking into the situation reported to us by Rep. Moore and will take the appropriate action as the investigation warrants.”
At the same time, Trent England, and OCPA spokesman, issued a carefully worded statement denying Moore’s allegations. “To the best of our knowledge, no OCPA staff member has ever communicated with or attempted to communicate with Rep. Moore’s spouse in any way at any time,” England said. “While some staff members may, in their personal time, get involved in campaigns, none of that activity is done on behalf of OCPA. And, again, so far as we know, none of that activity has ever involved any contact or attempted contact with Rep. Moore’s spouse. The use of the court system to attack and smear policy opponents is beyond the pale.”
England’s statement, however, did not address the organization People for Opportunity, which was founded two years ago by three OCAP executives.
That group, records from the Secretary of State’s office show, was created on Sept. 25, 2020, by Jonathan Small, David Bond and England. Small, the OCPA’s president and Bond, the OCPA’s vice president for advocacy, were two of the four OCPA officials who had protective orders filed against them by Rachel Moore.
Additionally, the People for Opportunity page on Facebook features an attack ad against Moore and fellow Republican Reps. Mark McBride and Rhonda Baker. The advertisement criticizes the trio for their votes on education issues. The ad was posted on Facebook on June 9.
A story published on the OCPA website in May criticized Moore and noted that the organization People for Opportunity “highlighted Moore’s vote and comments in a mailer sent to his district. The mailer noted that Moore voted against HB 2974 even as 66 House Republicans voted in favor of the bill and called the bill a ‘common-sense way to clean up the voter list and stop fraud.’ The mailer included quotes from Moore’s comments criticizing HB 2974 on the House floor.”
That story was written by Ray Carter, another of the OCPA officials that Rachel Moore asked the court to issue a protective order against.
Records from the Oklahoma Ethics Commission show that People for Opportunity has spent $404,018 on political campaigns between May 16 and June 18 of this year.
On Wednesday, the OCPA pushed back.
In a media statement, the organization announced it had asked the district court for the immediate dismissal of the protective order petitions failed against Small, Bond, Carter and Miller.
Trent England, a spokesman for the organization, said that none of the OCPA staff “have ever had any contact with Rep. Moore’s spouse, so far as any of us can tell. Not by text or in any other way. Any claim to the contrary should be accompanied by evidence.”
England’s statement said the OCPA completed an internal investigation and “determined that one staff member, a former long-time resident of Western Oklahoma, did send Rep. Moore two text messages in her personal capacity. Those messages were not of a threatening nature and related to concerns about Rep. Moore’s behavior as a legislator.”
The group said its motions show that Moore’s petitions fail to meet the requirements needed for a valid protective order. “The OCPA staff have asked the court to award the four individuals their attorney fees and costs. The law also says that anyone who misleads a court in order to obtain a protective order may be guilty of perjury, a felony,” the group’s statement said.