Editing McCurtain County, Oklahoma (section)

===2023 audio recording scandal===
{{main|2023 McCurtain County, Oklahoma audio recording scandal}}

In April 2023, the ''[[McCurtain Gazette-News]]'' released audio recordings of discussions among local officials about hiring a hit man to murder the paper's publisher and a reporter, Chris Willingham, and lamenting that lynching Black people was no longer acceptable. Oklahoma Governor [[Kevin Stitt]] said that he was "both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County". Stitt called for the local officials to resign, including "McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix."<ref>{{cite news | last =Smith | first =Jessie Christopher | title = Gov. Stitt calls for McCurtain County officials to resign | newspaper =[[The Oklahoman]] | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =April 17, 2023 | url =https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/crime/2023/04/17/gov-kevin-stitt-calls-for-mccurtain-county-officials-to-resign/70121666007/  | accessdate =April 17, 2023 }}</ref> Over 100 people gathered outside the county courthouse calling on the officials to resign.<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/>

In response, the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Facebook reading:

{{blockquote|There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act{{nbsp}}... which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation{{nbsp}}... 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.{{nbsp}} ... In addition to being illegally obtained, the audio does not match the "transcription" of that audio, and is not precisely consistent with what has been put into print. Multiple agencies are assisting in this ongoing investigation.{{nbsp}}... There will be continued press releases from this agency as the investigation comes to a close and findings are forwarded to the appropriate authorities for felony charges to be filed on those involved.<ref name="kfor-camper-23">{{cite news |last1=Camper |first1=Nick |title=Calls for resignation after McCurtain County officials are allegedly caught on recording making disturbing comments |url=https://kfor.com/news/local/calls-for-resignation-after-mccurtain-county-officials-are-allegedly-caught-on-recording-making-disturbing-comments/amp/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |work=KFOR |date=April 18, 2023}}</ref>}}

Jennings resigned on April{{nbsp}}19.<ref name="ap-murphy-23">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Sean |title=Oklahoma official who discussed killing reporters resigns |url=https://apnews.com/article/mccurtain-commissioner-oklahoma-racist-killing-journalists-recording-2e9e37db832b43b79dfa3f16a7061ea0 |work=[[Associated Press News]] |date=April 19, 2023}}</ref> The [[Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation]] is investigating the incident.<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/> Willingham also filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Manning "told a third party during a teleconference that Chris Willingham exchanged marijuana for sexually explicit images of children from a man who had been arrested on child sex-abuse image charges".<ref name="ap-murphy-23"/>

On June 18, 2024, Clardy lost his bid for reelection, placing third in the Republican primary with 18.26% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-18 |title=McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy defeated in Republican primary; two lead candidates will have runoff election in August {{!}} Texarkana Gazette |url=https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2024/jun/18/mccurtain-county-sheriff-kevin-clardy-defeated-in/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.texarkanagazette.com |language=en}}</ref>