Secret recording of Oklahoma sheriff’s talk of killing journalists, Black people is illegal, his office says

Glenda Austin of Idabel, Oklahoma, holds a sign with other protesters Monday outside the McCurtain County Commissioners meeting room. The governor of Oklahoma has called for the officials involved to step down. (Associated Press)

An Oklahoma sheriff’s office says a newspaper’s audio recording in which the sheriff and others are reportedly heard discussing killing two journalists and hanging Black people was illegal and predicted felony charges will be filed.

A post on the sheriff’s office Facebook page — the agency’s first public comment since the comments by Sheriff Kevin Clardy and others were reported by the McCurtain Gazette-News — does not address the recorded discussion, but calls the situation “complex” and one “we regret having to address.”