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Mullin draws backlash over reporter violence ‘joke’
A: Main, news
April 16, 2025
Mullin draws backlash over reporter violence ‘joke’
By KATRINA CRUMBACHER GAYLORD NEWS

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin received pushback Wednesday after “joking” that violence could solve “fake news” in a video posted on X late last week.

Freedom of Information Oklahoma’s Executive Director Kurt Gwartney called the whole matter “disheartening.”

“When political leaders joke about violence against those they disagree with or dislike, they demean their elected roles in American public life and the people they represent,” Gwartney said in a statement.

Founded in 1990, FOI Oklahoma is a statewide organization dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations trying to obtain access to open records or open meetings that have been “illegally closed,” according to its website.

The video, which made national headlines this week, opened with Mullin telling a story about a reporter who shot and killed a congressman-turned-lobbyist in 1890.

However, as the story came to an end, it took a dark turn.

“Now, there’s a lot we could say about reporters and the stories they write,” Mullin said, “but I bet they would write a lot less false stories — as President Trump says, ‘fake news’ — if we could still handle our differences that way.”

Across the United States in 2024, journalists were assaulted 80 times, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Of the 1,100 incidents of assault that have been reported since the organization started keeping track in 2017, three happened in Oklahoma.

“Each assault can be viewed as an attack on First Amendment freedoms,” Gwartney wrote. “Using violence against journalists is an established chapter in the anti-democratic playbook used by politicians across the globe and here at home.”

FOI Oklahoma was not the first to air grievances about Mullins’s comments.

On Sunday, The Oklahoman published a news article about Mullin’s remarks, and a couple of hours later, Mullin responded on X, calling the newspaper “out of touch with Oklahoma.” The Oklahoman followed with an editorial on Monday, saying Mullin is “out of touch with the dignity of his office and the volatile environment our country currently finds itself in.”

“In a time when Mullin could have gone before the cameras to help alleviate all the fears that consume Oklahomans in these uncertain times — worry about their Social Security benefits, whether their Medicaid insurance will be cut, among others — he chose to talk about the potential benefits of harming journalists,” The Oklahoman editorial board wrote.

The editorial contrasted Mullin’s remarks with the Oklahoma Standard and the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19.

“Markwayne Mullin’s response to an argument is violence,” The Oklahoman wrote. “But thousands of Oklahomans, including survivors, families, friends and others affected by the bombing responded to an unspeakable horror 30 years ago with dignity, grace and kindness.”

On Tuesday in another post on X, Mullin again responded to “the few reporters pretending to be upset about this video.”

“If you watched… it was a *reporter* who shot a congressman in 1890. You don’t see me crying,” Mullin wrote. “Take a joke and quit trying to find a reason to be offended. Focus on your low readership and declining relevance.”

According to Gwarteny, violence isn’t something public officials should joke about.

“Expressions of violence in our political system are something you don’t joke about or expect from a member of the U.S. Senate unless you’re willfully ignorant of civics and history,” Gwartney wrote.

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.

Whole Hawg Days on the horizon
A: Main, news
Whole Hawg Days on the horizon
July 16, 2025
Get ready for another fun-filled weekend as the 41st Annual Whole Hawg Arts & Crafts Festival prepares to get underway, Friday and Saturday, July 25-26. The festival will consist of Arts & Crafts, a r...
A: Main, news
Eufaula Chamber of Commerce Rodeo debuts
July 16, 2025
The rodeo is woven into the fabric of Eufaula history. Long before the annual rodeo was held at the fairgrounds, there were rodeos in an area of the city now a part of the cove where there are softbal...
A: Main, news
Check with the City before starting work
July 16, 2025
As more residents and property owners take on home improvement projects, the City of Eufaula is reminding the public of a key first step: check with the City before you begin. Whether you   are buildi...
Eufaula hires full-time fire chief
A: Main, news
Eufaula hires full-time fire chief
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 16, 2025
Eufaula didn’t have to look far for its first full-time fire chief. Checotah Fire Chief Greg Carmack has been offered the job, replacing volunteer Fire Chief Chad French. The decision to hire someone ...
Checotah says goodbye to cowboy legend Bill Duvall
A: Main, news
Checotah says goodbye to cowboy legend Bill Duvall
By LaDonna Rhodes Staff Writer 
July 16, 2025
When Bill Duvall was called to meet His Maker in the Great Round Up in the sky this past Sunday, Checotah lost one of its best storytellers and legendary cowboys ever. Thankfully his legacy will live ...
A: Main, news
Hats off to those credited with keeping the roundup club and rodeo alive
By Current Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 
July 16, 2025
Serena Kleveter, director Jay Hunn, president Zach McQuay Roxanne Loyd Kathy Turner Jeanette Smith Torie Anderson Peter Lee 1940-50 Doc Thurman Doc Gawf Dub Hammett 1960-70 Glen Pittman Fred Wendel Ho...
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A: Main, news
Commissioners pass moratorium
July 16, 2025
TransAlta of Canada announced six months ago that it no longer planned to develop a wind turbine farm in McIntosh County. However, county commissioners wanted to make sure TransAlta or any other wind ...
news
Auditions for The Dancing Princesses open to all
July 16, 2025
If you’ve ever thought acting on stage might be fun, here’s your chance to find out. The Eufaula Performing and Arts Club is opening auditions for their next play to any would-be actor ages 10 and up....
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McIntosh County GOP News
By LYNELLE MEDLEY CHAIRMAN 
July 16, 2025
Our potluck at the last meeting was so much fun and we had a fabulous turnout -- thank you to all of McIntosh County for supporting the Republican Party. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. It w...
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Man facing obscenity charges
July 16, 2025
Ryan Troy Dick, 52-year-old Sallisaw resident, is being held in the McIntosh County Jail pending his preliminary hearing on charges related to indecent photographs and videos sent to a former girlfrie...
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Juvenile dies following accident near Longtown
July 16, 2025
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports that a juvenile, whose name and age are being withheld, was fatally injured in a single-vehicle accident that took place at about 10:30 p.m. on July 4. The deceased...
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