Kevin Clardy was accused of participating in a secretly recorded conversation that included racist comments. However, the state’s attorney general announced that an investigation found no grounds to oust nor charge the Oklahoma sheriff.
On March 6, a Board of Commissioners meeting, where Oklahoma sheriff Kevin Clardy participated in, was allegedly recorded. The recording was then published in the McCurtain County Gazette-News newspaper.An article in CNN states that in April, Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma urged Gentner Drummond, the state’s Attorney General, to conduct an investigation. Reportedly, the newspaper claimed that the meeting was legally recorded. However, the Sheriff’s Office of McCurtain County argued that the audio was illegal upon conducting an investigation.
Furthermore, the sheriff’s office also claimed that the audio had been altered to include the Oklahoma sheriff making racist remarks about killing journalists and executing Black people.
No Grounds to Oust and Charge Oklahoma Sheriff
According to Murphy, on June 30, Drummond announced that the Oklahoma sheriff will not be faced with any charges. In addition, the attorney general also stated that the Oklahoma sheriff will not be removed from office. In a letter to Stitt on the same day, Drummond stated that the investigation found no evidence that the Oklahoma sheriff committed any crime in the recording.
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