OKLAHOMA CITY – The state representative and his wife who sought protective orders against four staff members of a right-wing think tank have asked a Custer County judge to dismiss the orders, court records show.
In late June, Rachel Moore, the wife of Republican state Rep. Anthony Moore, filed an emergency petition in Custer County District Court against four employees of the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs: Johnathon Small, the OCPA’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 OCPA’s development and outreach coordinator.
The OCPA bills itself as “a trusted source for fact-based public policy analysis” in Oklahoma.
A fifth protective order was issued against another individual, Mattison Miles. Court records did not show Miles’ relationship to either the OCPA or Moore.
However, on July 1, Christopher Cotner, the Moores’ attorney, filed documents in district court asking that all five orders be dismissed without prejudice. A dismissal without prejudice would allow Moore to file a similar court action at a later date.
The action drew a strong rebuke from OCPA spokesman Trent England. In a media statement, England called the orders ‘abusive.’
“On election night, Chris Cotner, an attorney for Rep. Moore and his spouse, offered to settle the matter with OCPA’s Jonathan Small, Dave Bond, and Ray Carter. When it became apparent that any such agreement would involve a gag order, Small, Bond, and Carter refused. They were prepared to attend a court hearing Tuesday, but it was canceled when Moore moved for dismissals,” England statement said. “None of the five targets of the Protective Orders ever had an opportunity to be heard in court. The petitions for the orders were legally deficient (with required areas of the forms left completely blank) and rested on claims that are false.”
England said OCPA officials “believe Rep. Moore’s spouse received a single text message and that Rep. Moore himself received three text messages. Rep. Moore subsequently admitted on a radio program that the messages were not threatening. He also offered no evidence that Small, Bond, and Carter were involved.”
“In fact, no OCPA staff member has ever had any contact with Rep. Moore’s spouse. One junior OCPA staff member, on her personal time, did send Rep. Moore (but not his spouse) two non-threatening text messages,” England’s statement said. “While we do not condone that behavior, we recognize that this was a personal matter involving two young women from Western Oklahoma and the Moores.”
State records and social media postings show, however, that Moore was harshly criticized by the politically oriented nonprofit, People for Opportunity, which was founded two years ago by three OCPA executives.
That group, records from the Secretary of State’s office show, was created on Sept. 25, 2020, by Small, Bond and England. Small and Bond are two of the four OCPA officials who had protective orders filed against them by Rachel Moore.
Additionally, the People for Opportunity Facebook page features a June 9 attack ad against Moore and fellow Republican Reps. Mark McBride and Rhonda Baker. The advertisement criticizes the trio for their votes on education issues.
England said Moore’s request for protective orders was “frivolous and abusive” and led to OCPA staff members being unable to coach their children’s sports teams and fully participate in church activities.
“All this was an egregious abuse of serious legal processes designed to protect people who are truly at risk,” he said. England said the OCPA and its staff were “considering all legal options.”
Neither Rep. Moore nor his wife could be reached for comment.