In southeast Oklahoma: the sheriff of McCurtain County, one of his investigators, and a county commissioner are accused of discussing killing a local reporter and lamenting that modern justice no longer includes lynching black people.
The explosive accusations were published this week in the McCurtain Gazette-News. According to the newspaper, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, investigator Alicia Manning, and District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings were part of an impromptu discussion after the March 6th meeting of the county Board of Commissioners.
The Gazette reported that it is in possession of the full audio recording of the discussion. The FBI and the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office also have copies of the recording, according to the newspaper.
Governor Kevin Stitt issued a statement Sunday evening calling for the resignation of multiple McCurtain County officials after comments they made were published in a recording.
Stitt asked McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix to submit their resignation following "abhorrent comments recorded after a county commissioners' meeting on March 6th."
The recording, captured by Gazette reporter Bruce Willingham, revealed county officials discussing plans to beat, kill, and bury two newspaper reporters in Idabel, including Willingham's son Chris.
County commissioner Mark Jennings and Sheriff Kevin Clardy also discussed burying bodies.
Jennings: I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them.
Clardy: I've got an excavator.
Jennings: Well, these are already pre-dug.
Later in the recording, County Commissioner Mark Jennings lamented the discontinuation of lynchings with the sheriff, stating he would run for sheriff if he could beat up a black man and throw him in jail.
Jennings: Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope. But you can't do that anymore. They got more rights than we got.
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