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Report: Half Oklahoma Is A Lawless Land!

1:50 PM EDT on June 23, 2022

Before we dive into today's article, I want to let our fans, readers, and enemies who live in Eastern Oklahoma – otherwise known as the state's "lawless zone" – know that we're pulling for them, and keeping them in our thoughts and prayers as they try to ride out these times of absolute anarchy and chaos.

Well, at least that's how the Daily Caller wants to try to portray things.

Yesterday, the right-wing propaganda outlet's "Investigate Group" – a real, non-satirical thing I didn't just make up – produced an investigative report on how the McGirt decision has "Turned Half Of Oklahoma Into A Lawless Land."

Check this out:

A 2020 Supreme Court decision to turn over nearly half of Oklahoma to Native American tribes has effectively turned the eastern portion of the state into a lawless zone.

The McGirt v. Oklahoma decision has meant that “nothing” would be done in less serious cases, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Oklahoma field office Edward Gray previously said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Yep, you can now get away with "less serious crimes" in Eastern Oklahoma. That sound you just heard was Brent Swadley running outside to fire up the smoker and launch a restaurant chain in Tahlequah!

So, how deep underground did "The Daily Caller" news team dig in this hardcore investigative series? Did they talk to people directly victimized by the McGirt decision, obtain public records that document a lawless calamity in Eastern Oklahoma, or have secret meetings with tribal court judges in downtown parking garages?

Nope, they just recycled some Stitt talking points, without ever mentioning that he's had it out for the tribes since the day he was elected to office:

The high court could hand back some jurisdiction to the state in a case known as Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, which deals with the question of whether the state should have the power to pursue crimes perpetrated by non-Native Americans against Native Americans on reservation land.

Until there is a decision in that case, many of the crimes will go unpunished because the federal government agencies investigating and prosecuting what the state can’t are overwhelmed by the caseload.

“The FBI is not prosecuting car thefts and burglaries, any kind of drugs, DUIs,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt previously told TheDCNF on the steps of the Supreme Court after the state presented arguments in the case in April.

First of all, it's nice to know the FBI is following the lead of local law enforcement officials and not prosecuting car thefts and burglaries. We don't want to waste too much of their time! That being said, they should find time to arrest people for drugs and DUIs. As our Oklahoma Sheriffs have shown, it's a great way to collect lucrative fees and seize personal assets!

On that note, The Caller talked to an Oklahoma sheriff for their thoughts on McGirt, because you know, conservative guys who like to put other people in jail for a living are totally reliable and unbiased sources of information, especially in an ethical haven like Oklahoma.

The criminals benefitting from the McGirt decision often become repeat offenders, Haskell County Sheriff Tim Turner told TheDCNF.

“We have people who are not afraid of the law anymore … we’ve made everything in Oklahoma misdemeanors, simple drug possession, to fines under $1,000 misdemeanors, and we are decriminalizing, which is making the outlaws of Oklahoma more bold and more broad,” Turner said.

Wait a second! We know Tim Turner! Back in April, he was ranked 8th Hottest in our ranking of the 10 Hottest Sheriffs in Oklahoma. Here's what we had to say at the time...

We'd like to thank Sheriff Haskell for being a good sport about all that. If you can't laugh about gravy, what can you laugh about? I can't wait to read his thoughts on the 1994 Furr's premium white he acquired at the Sotheby's Gravy Auction back in May. I hear it's a splendid vintage.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, this fair and balanced, not-in-any-way-propaganda peice The Daily Caller produced for Stitt about McGirt.

The article quotes a lot of people from the FBI and Feds. They complain about the increased workload and their lack of resources. It's a legit issue that needs to be worked out, which knowing how mich Stitt and the Tribes hate each other, means it probably won't.

In all fairness to The Daily Caller, they did get a view from the pro-McGirt side. Check this out:

But some Native Americans argue that the state is withholding resources tribes need to tackle crime themselves.

“It’s a problem that the state created a long time ago. And you have to remember what the mentality was in 1907 after the Trail of Tears and Indians in Oklahoma,” criminal defense attorney David Slane, who is a citizen of the Choctaw tribe, told TheDCNF.

Slane described a case where he represented a Native American woman who slapped her boyfriend and was arrested under a misdemeanor domestic violence charge that was ultimately dismissed “because the state had no jurisdiction.”

However, Slane disagrees with Stitt’s handling of the situation.

“He wants to identify the problem and say the courts are causing all these problems and ignore the reality that they could be doing cross deputization, they could be doing cross concurrent jurisdiction, they could be reaching political solutions to the problem as opposed to just complaining that it’s a problem and it needs to be overturned,” Slane said.

Yep, to get the pro-McGirt take, they went to famed Oklahoma City sex crimes defense attorney David Slane, because you know, sex crimes defense attorneys are the best sources of information for tribal issues in Oklahoma.

Anyway, I guess if you're a fan of half-assed "investigative journalism" – and if you're still reading this, you probably are – head over to the Daily Caller's website and read it over there.

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.

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