Oklahoma county worried about fallout from racist recording

IDABEL, Okla. — So many residents of northern Texas cross the border into McCurtain County in far southeast Oklahoma each week that the area has earned the nickname of the “Dallas-Fort Worth Hamptons.”

With its clean rivers and lakes, these forested foothills of the Ouchita Mountains have become dotted with luxury cabins, and a tourism boom over the last two decades has fueled a renaissance in the region. Jobs are no longer limited to the timber industry or the chicken processing plant, and parents are more optimistic that their children won’t have to leave the community to find work.

But the growing optimism about the county’s future took a gut punch last week when the local newspaper identified several county officials, including Sheriff Kevin Clardy and a county commissioner, who were caught on tape discussing killing journalists and lynching Black people. One commissioner has already resigned, and elected officials, including the mayor of Idabel and Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, have called for the others to step down.

“Just hearing it on audio and coming from our elected officials’ mouths in a meeting, it made my stomach turn,” said Lonnie Watson, a lifelong county resident and 7th grade teacher and coach who is Black. “It was shocking. It was sad. It was hurtful. Just to hear the hate … was just gut-wrenching.”

For its part, the sheriff’s office has only released one formal statement since the McCurtain Gazette-News broke the story last weekend in which the sheriff’s office didn’t address the remarks, but claimed the recording was illegally obtained.

“Unfortunately, all of our attorneys are telling us we are supposed to stay quiet,” Undersheriff Mike Manning told The Associated Press on Thursday, declining further comment. “I’d love for everybody to hear both sides of the story.”On Friday, the governor, who has called for Clardy and others said to be involved in the taped conversation to resign, released a letter that he sent to state Attorney General Gentner Drummond, asking him to investigate possibly removing Clardy from office for willful misconduct.

“As I understand it, Sheriff Clardy has, at the least, willfully failed or neglected to diligently and faithfully ‘keep and preserve the peace’ of McCurtain County,” according to the letter signed by Stitt. “Should you find that there is reasonable cause for such complaint, I urge you to institute proceedings to oust Sheriff Clardy from office.”

A spokesperson for Drummond said investigators are already looking into the case.

“The Office of Attorney General is investigating this matter. Attorney General Drummond will review the Governor’s letter and take appropriate action,” said Drummond spokesperson Phil Bacharach.

While many county residents say the racist remarks are a throwback to a bygone era, they still worry about the negative repercussions the incident will have on the community’s reputation.

“We have concerns. We do. Anyone in their right…