What did Kevin Clardy say? Oklahoma County sheriff and leaders exposed over lynching audio recording  

An audio recording of McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, County Commissioner Mark Jennings and Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alicia Manning has led to calls for resignation. The trio were recorded discussing the lynching of Black people and the killing of a local journalist. Since the clip went viral, Governor Kevin Skitt has demanded that they resign. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association has acted against those involved.

The secretly recorded conversation first went public on Friday, as per The Oklahoman. Bruce Willingham, a publisher with the McCurtain Gazette-News, revealed that the clip was recorded on March 6 after he suspected that county commission’s business was being discussed after meeting hours, which violates the state’s Open Meeting Act.

In the clip that has gone viral online, Jennings can be heard saying:

“I’m gonna tell you something. If it was back in the day when that, when Alan Marshton would take a damn black guy and whoop their a*s and throw him in a cell? It’s run for sheriff.”

Kevin Clardy responded by saying- “Yeah, well, it’s not like that no more.”

Jennings then added:

“I know. Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope. But you can’t do that anymore. They got more rights than we got.”

Jennings, Kevin Clardy and Manning went on to discuss Chris Willingham, a reporter who has been critical of the ruling government. Kevin Clardy can be heard saying:

“The old saying is, what goes around goes around. It will. I told you it will.”

Jennings then responds- “I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them.” Kevin Clardy then says- “I’ve got an excavator.”

Jennings then jokes about being friends with hitmen, who are “very quiet guys.”

Manning then reportedly said:

“Yeah, but here’s the reality, if a hair on his wife’s head, Chris Willingham’s head, or any of those people that really were behind that, if any hair got touched by anybody, who would be the bad guy?”

Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix was also present during the recorded viral audio clip.

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County Sheriff Kevin Clardy and other leaders suspended over audio tape exposé

The Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association has suspended Clardy, Manning and Hendrix. It was a unanimous vote to have the trio suspended. Despite the suspension, it does not remove them from their jobs at the sheriff’s department. County Commissioner Mark Jennings has been called upon to step down as well.

The County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Tuesday following the release of the recording. They stated that they will reluctantly investigate the matter and infer which sections of the recording were made illegally or altered. Their statement read:

“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 motivation for doing so remains unclear at this point. That matter is actively being investigated.”

The office also claimed that they had received several threats of violence, including death threats.

Gov. Kevin Stitt is now calling for resignation and is also asking the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.