Oklahoma Officials Resign and Suspended After Violent and Racist Comments Caught on Tape

McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings, who was caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people, has resigned from office. The comments by Jennings and officials with the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office have sparked outrage and protests in the city of Idabel, the county seat. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into the matter at the request of the governor. The recording was made when a local publisher left a voice-activated recorder inside the room after a county commissioner’s meeting. The newspaper has filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office seeking body camera footage and other records connected to a man's death.