McCurtain County community in turmoil after sheriff, commission accused of hateful speech.Listen to the full, McCurtain County recording The Gazette reported that the audio was recorded the same day Chris Willingham filed a defamation lawsuit against Manning, the sheriff’s office and the board of county commissioners. The sheriff’s office issued a statement questioning the veracity of the audio and asserting that it may have been recorded illegally.īruce Willingham, the newspaper’s publisher, has said he left the recorder running after a commissioner’s meeting because he believed officials may have been violating public meeting laws. More: 'You can't take things like this lightly.' State officials call for resignations in McCurtain County
Dozens of residents have protested and the Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP has called for a federal investigation. Kevin Stitt has called on the officials captured in the recording - identified by the Gazette as Clardy, Jennings, Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix and investigator Alicia Manning - to step down. Willingham reported that he has written more than 30 articles looking into government corruption over the last two years. The Willingham family publishes the Gazette and brought the audio clips to light. It has a population of roughly 33,000.Ĭlardy repeatedly criticized Gazette reporter Chris Willingham, saying he was “gonna bounce his ass.” The racist and violent comments have sparked nationwide outrage and brought intense scrutiny to rural McCurtain County, which is located about 230 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. commissioner resigns amid controversy over violent remarks McCurtain County audio brings scrutiny to southeast Oklahoma
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The Gazette said it is publishing the full audio to be transparent and to show the importance of public records. The entire recording, which was captured March 6, lasts three hours and 37 minutes, the newspaper said.
The newspaper does not have a web edition. The Gazette published a summary in its Thursday edition, which hit newsstands Wednesday night. The McCurtain Gazette reported that the new audio includes more talk of harming journalists, as well as discussion of intimidating the local prosecutor.
Watch Video: Full McCurtain County audio features more on Bruce, Chris WillinghamĪ southeast Oklahoma newspaper has released the full audio recording it captured of county officials talking about killing journalists and lynching Black people.
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