Sheriff’s office: Recordings of alleged discussions about killing reporters, hanging Black people were altered

The scandal-ridden Oklahoma sheriff’s office says that audio that promoted the state’s governor to call for officials to resign was altered, and that its leak was being investigated.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) called for officials in the county sheriff’s office to resign after apparently discussing killing local reporters and lynching Black people.

The leaked audio came from a discussion between McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, his investigator Alicia Manning, Commissioners Mark Jennings and Robert Beck, commissioners’ secretary Heather Carter and jail administrator Larry Hendrix after a March county meeting, according to the McCurtain Gazette-News.

It includes Jennings reminiscing about how law enforcement used to “take (Black people) down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope.” The group also discusses hiring hit men, mentioning local journalists. 

The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office released a statement about the audio on Facebook Monday.

“There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act… which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation in which you are not involved and do not have the consent of at least one of the involved parties,” it said.

“Many of these recordings, like the one published by media outlets on Friday, have yet to be duly authenticated or validated. Our preliminary information indicates that the media released audio recording has, in fact, been altered.”

The office also said the transcription of the audio recordings did not match what was actually said on the tape, and said that threats of violence had been made toward county officials and their families. 

Stitt condemned the contents of the leaks on Monday.

“There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office,” the governor said. “I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”