Free Republic

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford apologized to his black constituents for challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, saying that he failed to recognize that his actions casted “doubt on the validity of votes” in majority black cities like Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia. Lankford, who originally joined a group of senators led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that said they would object to Biden’s victory unless Congress launched a commission to audit the results, ultimately withdrew his objection after being trapped in the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6. “My action of asking for more election information caused a firestorm of...

Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said he witnessed the moment a police officer shot a woman inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and insisted the officer had no other choice. A pro-Trump mob of rioters rammed their way into the Capitol Wednesday as Congress held a joint session to certify the election results, sending lawmakers into hiding. Video shows a group attempting to force itself into the House chamber, where lawmakers were present. As protesters were breaking glass on the doors that kept them out to force their way through, a law enforcement officer fired a shot. One woman, Ashli Babbitt,...

Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors: I am aware this is a long letter, but it is a serious issue that requires a serious response. January 6, 2021, was a terrible day for our country and for our democracy. Americans do not all agree, but we settle issues through elections, legislation, and conversation. Ronald Reagan once said, “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” Obviously that did not happen January 6. At 1pm eastern, the Joint Session of Congress started normally. Within a few minutes, a small group of Senators and House...

@ChadPergram GOP OK Sen Inhofe: To challenge a state’s certification, given how specific the Constitution is, would be a violation of my oath of office—that is not something I am willing to do and is not something Oklahomans would want me to do.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Senators-Elect Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) issued the following statement in advance of the Electoral College certification process on January 6, 2021: "America is a Republic whose leaders are chosen in democratic elections. Those elections, in turn, must comply with the Constitution and with federal and state law. "When the voters fairly decide an election, pursuant to the rule of law, the losing candidate...

Work on the west leg of the Gilcrease Expressway continues with officials saying Monday that completion is still expected in about 18 months. Joe Echelle, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority assistant executive director of maintenance, engineering and construction, told stakeholders during a virtual meeting that the contractor was slightly ahead of schedule with concrete pouring for the new roadway scheduled to begin in February. As the concrete is poured, first between 41st and 51st Streets, the highway “won’t just look like a dirt road at this point,” Echelle said. State officials in July 2019 awarded a $259.3 million construction contract for the...

Oklahoma has joined more than a dozen other states in their support of a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Texas’ request to throw out the presidential election results in four key states. On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton file lawsuits against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit claims the states "exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election." Paxton says the four battleground states made unconstitutional changes to election laws. He...

17 States have intervened in support of the Texas Lawsuit Amici curiae are the States of Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.The President has also filed a motion to personally interveneMore information here: One Third Of US States Have Now Joined Texas SCOTUS Bid To Overturn Election

Very sadly for our Nation, it looks like Senator @JimInhofe will not be putting the Section 230 termination clause into the Defense Bill. So bad for our National Security and Election Integrity. Last chance to ever get it done. I will VETO!

ELK CITY, Okla. - The Elk City Police Department is investigating a deadly home invasion. Police said the victim told investigators two men broke into his bedroom. That's when investigators said the homeowner then opened fire on both, killing one of the would-be thieves. “I saw five or six police cars, they had all alleys blocked off,” said Tristian Wooten, Elk City resident. “Cones had the area shut off.” People living nearby said they woke up and noticed police all over their neighborhood Saturday morning. “They blocked off all in front of the tennis courts there to the south and...

The U.S. senator from Oklahoma said that while the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, it will not be mandated for people to take it.

An Oklahoma Catholic bishop withdrew his diocese from an ecumenical religious organization this month after it refused to acknowledge that unborn babies are discriminated against by society. The AP reports Bishop David Konderla, who leads the Diocese of Tulsa, announced his decision to leave the Oklahoma Conference of Churches on Nov. 6. “(The OCC) will not commit itself to defending the right to life of babies in the womb, the most marginalized, mistreated, abused and discriminated against group in the country,” Konderla said in a statement. “(OCC’s) statement, with its glaring exclusion of the most vulnerable group of persons in...

Two days before President Donald Trump held his campaign rally in Tulsa, federal agents came to Derek Lamont Alexander Jr.'s home and seized his guns. Now the U.S. government is seeking court permission to keep them. "It's completely not fair," Alexander, 29, said. "They violated my rights. ... I shouldn't have even opened the door since they didn't have a warrant." Alexander "had come to the FBI's attention during a protest," a federal agent told a judge. "Alexander was seen with a group of people walking down Peoria Ave in Tulsa, Oklahoma carrying firearms," the special agent with the U.S....

Republican Sen. James Lankford (OK) promised that he would “step in” to the dispute if the President-Elect Joe Biden was not given access to U.S. intelligence briefings by Friday. In a long interview with host Russell Mills for Tulsa radio station KRMG, Lankford discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 election. Near the end of the 35-minute discussion, the host pushed Lankford on Trump’s refusal to accept the called race in Biden’s favor. (The relevant portion begins at the 22:45 mark.) “I gotta tell you, national security is a concern,” Mills said. “Because Mr. Biden is not getting the briefings...

yup

Imagine trying to get elected as a Democrat in a predominantly conservative town. That’s happening in Rogers County with those running for office hoping to turn their district purple... Young is running for State House District 23. She’s also the Democratic party chair in Rogers County, a group now working out of their new office in the heart of Main Street. "Rogers County was, the whole time I was growing up here for the last many years, it was Democratic and then it was slowly drifting towards being more Republican," Young said. Despite the Rogers County Democrats' push, Election Board...

The leadership of the Staten Island GOP definitely subscribes to the age-old adage, "Turnabout is fair play." When thousands of teens on TikTok attempted to sabotage a Trump rally, the organizers turned the tables and tricked them into donating to the Republican Party. POLL: Do you have faith that AG Bill Barr will prosecute the people involved in #Russiagate hoax? The Staten Island Republican Party organized the "TRiUMPh Rally," billed as the "largest pro-Trump, pro-Republican, pro-Law and Order rally in New York City this year." Originally, the event was free to all, as long as they RSVP'd before the Oct....

Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice has a four-point lead over Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn in the closely watched race in the 5th Congressional District, according to a new survey from an Oklahoma City polling firm. The survey of 500 likely voters in the district shows Bice leading Horn 49% to 45%, with 6% undecided. Bice’s lead is within the margin of error, which is 4.3%. The poll was conducted Sept. 25-30 by Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass and Associates. The Republican consulting firm represented David Hill in the GOP primary in the race. The firm is not involved in the general...

Two former Republican lawmakers wrote an op-ed on Friday explaining why they are supporting Democrat Joe Biden instead of President Trump in November, arguing Trump is "an ill-formed man who lacks basic self-control and shows no semblance of inner character." Former Reps. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) and Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.) in an opinion for Roll Call condemned Trump's "childish name-calling, crude behavior and immature narcissism.".... Djou and Edwards said the Democratic presidential candidate is "not a perfect man, but he is a man of humble decency."

A massive takedown by the US Marshals in Oklahoma netted more than 260 suspects — including 141 gang members — and located five missing children, authorities said. Playing out over the course of two months, “Operation Triple Beam” ultimately busted 262 people — including six homicide suspects and others wanted for assault, burglary, weapons offenses and drug offenses, KFOR reported. Five missing children turned up in the investigation, the US Marshals Service said in a news release. Meanwhile, 72 firearms, more than 9 kilograms of narcotics and nearly $17,000 were also recovered. The sting, which ended Sept. 6, was part...