Tag: oklahoma

Oklahoma Homeowner Charged with MANSLAUGHTER After Gunning Down Squatter Who Took Over One of His Houses

An Oklahoma homeowner earlier this month took deadly action against a lazy squatter and now faces a serious threat to his freedom.

As KOCO reported, 59-year-old Timothy Smith was arrested by police and charged with first-degree manslaughter after fatally shooting 42-year-old Justin King, who had taken over one of his homes in Oklahoma City.

KOCO revealed that Smith discovered King was living on the property and went to confront him on May 1. When Smith arrived, he stumbled upon the squatter having carnal relations with a female in one of the home’s bedrooms.

Smith claims he shot King in self-defense after the squatter took a step toward him.

The squatter died one week later.

From KOCO:

Smith, who was not living in the home at the time, said he entered with a gun and confronted King when he found him in the back bedroom with a woman.

When he ordered King to leave, Smith claimed that King stepped toward him, so he aimed at the area of the squatter and pulled the trigger, per court records cited by KOCO.

He hit King in the neck, and he was taken to the hospital. He died a week later on May 8.

Smith was initially arrested on charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon. He was then charged with first-degree manslaughter after King died in the hospital.

Criminal defense attorney Ed Blau told KOCO that the self-defense claim in this case may not apply because Smith was not living in the home at the time of the shooting.

“There’s no death penalty for squatting in the state of Oklahoma. You can’t just take a gun in and shoot somebody,” Blau explained.

Blau added that while Oklahoma’s Castle Doctrine allows homeowners to defend their primary residence against intruders, the law is different for a vacant home.

“If a trespasser or a burglar breaks in or comes into the home that you live in and you’re there, you can pretty much shoot them or do whatever you want to with them,” Blau told KOCO. “And because of the Castle Doctrine here in Oklahoma, in a situation like this, an abandoned house, it’s much different.”

“You can’t go in, put yourself in a situation and say, ‘This is my house, so I felt I had the right to shoot him.’”

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More States Enact New Laws Curbing Teachers Unions

New organized labor reforms signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week require a majority of members to be present for teachers union certification or recertification votes, increase fines for illegal strikes, and establish merit-based pay for educators.

In Idaho, after July 1, teachers unions will be prohibited from collecting dues directly from members’ paychecks, using paid time off for union activities, or recruiting new members during school hours.

A similar law in Arizona, which also bans teacher strikes and prohibits organized labor members from using any school property—even email addresses—for union activities, will be decided on by voters in the November election.

“They can’t consume taxpayer-funded resources during the school day,” said Rusty Brown, special projects director for the Freedom Foundation policy organization, which assisted state legislators with those measures and helps teachers opt out of union membership.

These ideas are expected to gain ground throughout the nation in the months and years ahead, Brown told The Epoch Times.

Individually, the Freedom Foundation’s Teacher Freedom Alliance has so far helped more than 272,535 teachers opt out of union membership, including more than 50,000 in 2025 alone, according to data provided to The Epoch Times. This includes educators in red and blue states.

At the state level, Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced legislation that would allow teachers to withdraw from a union at any time and would terminate “closed shop” provisions that prevent teachers from accessing alternative labor or professional organizations, such as the Teacher Freedom Alliance.

Brown calls this an “equal access and an end to a monopoly and captive audience bill.” Alternative organizations can offer teacher liability insurance and other benefits at a fraction of the price that traditional unions charge, he said.

Brown said he believes that the legislation could pass before Oklahoma’s session ends later this month, but the member withdrawal proposal probably won’t go through this session.

Alabama state lawmakers will consider legislation similar to Oklahoma’s next session, he said.

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Does Someone Want to Tell Him? Pete Buttigieg Gets ROASTED as He Forgets An Inconvenient Fact While Calling for Abolishing the Electoral College

Pete Buttigieg likes to fancy himself as a sophisticated and intelligent man, but ended up looking dumb while at a recent town hall event in Oklahoma.

As FOX 23 reported, the former Secretary of Transportation held a “Win the Era” town hall at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma two weeks ago where he discussed a variety of topics including artificial intelligence, LGBTQ rights, and healthcare.

But in a clip that has gone viral today, Buttigieg also pondered how great it would be if just got rid of the ‘pesky’ electoral college and used the popular vote to elect presidents.

This movement has been a Democrat clarion call ever since George W. Bush defeated Al Gore back in 2000 while losing the popular vote.

“One thing that would make a huge difference is if we selected our president by letting the person who got the most votes take the office, instead of the national Electoral College,” Buttigieg said to the roughly 2,000 people in attendance.

The audience responded to this by erupting in cheers for several seconds.

“It would be a really good idea,” Buttgieg continued. “Because any Democrat wanting to be president would have to campaign in Oklahoma.”

“By the way, any Republican would have to campaign in Brooklyn! that would be good for our democracy.”

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Missing Republican Oklahoma Senate candidate Barry Christian, 54, found dead in rural area

The body of a missing Republican Oklahoma state Senate candidate was found in a truck in a rural area — turning his family’s world “upside down,” his devastated daughter said.

Barry Christian, a 54-year-old Trump-supporting candidate for District 38 in western Oklahoma, was discovered dead Thursday after he mysteriously vanished just two days prior, his campaign said in a news release obtained by KOCO.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed to the outlet that Christian’s 2024 charcoal gray Ram truck was found just off Highway 30, south of Erick, with a body inside.

The truck was located by a ravine near the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area. Because of where the vehicle is located, officials are unable to remove his body, delaying identification, the outlet reported.

A large campaign sign for Christian, however, was photographed eerily tossed onto the prairie land as authorities scoured the area.

The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear. The OSBI did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Christian was reported missing Tuesday after he failed to show up to a scheduled meeting. He was last seen driving his Ram truck, according to the Harmon County Sheriff’s Office.

He last posted on Facebook on Saturday, asking his district’s residents to attend a meet-and-greet at the Mangum Oklahoma Rattlesnake Festival to discuss “issues that matter most to our community.”

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Trans-Identified Attorney Goes Berserk in Oklahoma Courtroom, Screams “I Can’t Breathe,” and Demands a Female Officer While Resisting Arrest After Playing the “Trans” Victim Card 

A transgender Oklahoma attorney representing a mother in a bitter child custody battle was arrested after repeatedly clashing with the judge, triggering a chaotic scene that ended with contempt charges, resistance, and a dramatic removal from the courtroom.

According to The Oklahoma Post, attorney Rob Hopkins, who was representing Julie Ann Kramer in an ongoing custody dispute, was taken into custody by order of Judge Laurie Jackson after repeatedly interrupting proceedings and refusing to comply with courtroom decorum.

The viral footage shows Hopkins repeatedly interrupting the judge, smirking at the bench, and eventually throwing a phone in a fit of rage.

The courtroom video began when Hopkins repeatedly spoke over Judge Laurie Jackson, refusing to yield the floor despite multiple warnings.

Judge Laurie Jackson: “Stop, you interrupt me one more time and you are being held in direct contempt of court and you can wipe that smirk off your face.”

Rather than de-escalate, Hopkins continued to argue, insisting the judge was refusing to hear the case properly and challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

At one point, the situation escalated further when Hopkins appeared to knock a phone off the bench, prompting the judge to warn about courtroom conduct as tensions rose.

The situation took an even more bizarre turn when Hopkins suddenly injected identity politics into the confrontation. Instead of acting like a professional, Hopkins attempted to hide behind her identity, suggesting the judge was only being harsh because she is a “transgender attorney.”

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Okmulgee city councilor arrested, accused of child abuse

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said an Okmulgee city councilor accused of child abuse was arrested on Tuesday.

On Nov. 24, 2025, the Okmulgee Police Department requested OSBI to investigate a report of child abuse.

OSBI said an Okmulgee Police report stated that 63-year-old Marcus Jeffrey struck several minors with a belt during a youth meeting at a local church.

Jeffrey, who is an Okmulgee city councilor, reportedly started as a teacher for the youth group a few weeks prior to the incident, according to OSBI.

OSBI said that while reviewing video surveillance from inside the church, Jeffrey was reportedly seen swinging a belt toward a group of children, hitting a number of them.

An arrest warrant was issued for Jeffrey on Tuesday, and he turned himself in to the authorities the same day.

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Appoints Oil & Gas Executive Who Reportedly Donated to Adam Kinzinger to Fill Mullin’s Senate Seat

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has chosen oil and gas executive Alan Armstrong to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

The move comes as Mullin barrels toward confirmation as President Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump announced that Oklahoma Senator and undefeated MMA fighter Markwayne Mullin will lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) effective March 31.

If Mullin is confirmed and leaves the Senate, Kevin Stitt, the Republican governor of Oklahoma, will be required to appoint a temporary replacement to serve until voters choose a senator in the next election.

Under Oklahoma law, Governor Kevin Stitt will have 30 days to appoint a temporary U.S. senator to fill the vacancy until voters decide the seat in the next election.

The appointee will serve only briefly and is expected to sign an oath promising not to run for the seat in the upcoming election, a measure designed to prevent the advantages of incumbency in the race.

According to NOTUS, citing three sources, Stitt selected Armstrong, a longtime energy executive and former CEO of Williams Companies, to serve out the remainder of Mullin’s term.

The news outlet reported that Armstrong and Stitt were expected to meet with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to finalize the decision.

Reports reveal Armstrong previously donated $5,800 to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the most vocal anti-Trump Republicans.

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This Small-Town Couple Sells Affordable Caskets – the State Wants to Shut Them Down

Todd Collard and his wife, Candi Mentink have owned and operated Caskets of Honor for years, providing high-quality custom designs at an affordable price for grieving families. But their dream of helping people honor their loved ones slammed into a roadblock when Oklahoma’s regulators stepped in.

The business started in 2016 soon after Todd decided to build a casket for fun. It didn’t take long for this project to become a business idea — one that would set them on their journey to manufacture affordable caskets with custom designs for those who lost loved ones. “I just always thought it’d be really neat,” Todd told Townhall. “We’ve all been to funerals and seeing just the same old caskets over and over.”

He continued, saying he “just thought it’d be really cool to be able to create a tribute to somebody or a theme or anything that they like—hunting, fishing, golf, whatever,” and that he wanted to “just create something that is memorable.”

From their shop in Calvin, Oklahoma, Caskets of Honor the couple worked together to create these caskets. Todd handles the building and outside design of the box while Candi uses her sewing skills to create the interior of the casket. “I tell people I’m a perfect example of why they should put Home Economics back in school,” Candi said.

Buying a casket direct from the company benefits consumers because if they were to purchase one at a funeral home, they would be paying exorbitant prices due to markups. Caskets of Honor sells to its customers directly so they don’t have to deal with inflated prices.

At first, the couple sold to funeral homes. But they wished to sell to families, so they took their products to the Tulsa State Fair in 2021. Todd said their caskets were “the hit of the fair,” with many coming by their booth to see their caskets. They gave away over 2,000 business cards at the event.

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Oklahoma Governor Wants Voters To Revisit Medical Marijuana Legalization Law And ‘Shut It Down’

The Republican governor of Oklahoma says he wants voters to revisit the state’s medical marijuana law and “shut it down,” arguing that “liberal activists” conned the state and “opened up Pandora’s box’ with legalization.

During his State of the State address on Monday, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said his “top priority has always been keeping Oklahoma safe,” and one of the “greatest threats to public safety is the out-of-control marijuana industry.”

“When Oklahomans voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018, we were sold a bill of goods,” he said. “Out of state liberal activists preyed on the compassionate nature of Oklahomans. Then, it opened up Pandora’s box.”

The governor complained that the state has “more dispensaries than we do pharmacies,” adding that marijuana retailers “hide an industry that enables cartel activity, human trafficking, and foreign influence in our state.”

While regulators and law enforcement have “done incredible work to hold back the tide of illegal activity,” Stitt said, the industry is “plagued by foreign criminal interests and bad actors, making it nearly impossible to rein in.”

“We can’t put a band-aid on a broken bone,” he said. “Knowing what we know, it’s time to let Oklahomans bring safety and sanity back to their neighborhoods. Send the marijuana issue back to the vote of the people and shut it down.”

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Oklahoma Gov. Stitt: Trump ‘Getting Bad Advice,’ We Can’t Deport Every Single Non-U.S. Citizen

Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) said President Donald Trump is getting “bad advice” on his immigration policies.

Host Dana Bash said, “Are you comfortable with what the Trump administration is doing in Minnesota?

Stitt said, “Well, first off, this is a real tragedy. And I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability.”

He added, “But now Americans are asking themselves, what is the endgame? What is the solution? And, you know, we believe in federalism and state rights, and nobody likes feds coming into their state. And so what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want. We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions on immigration reform. And I believe that I’ve got a great solution that we should give the states the authority to do workforce permits.”

Bash said, “Are you saying that they should pull out of Minnesota?”

Stitt said, “Well, I think that the president has to answer that question. He is a dealmaker, and he’s getting bad advice right now. The president needs to let the American people know. What is the solution? How do we bring this to a conclusion? And I think only the president can answer that question because it’s complicated. We have to enforce federal laws. But we need to know what is the endgame. And I don’t think it’s to deport every single non-U.S. citizen.”

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