For a family that preaches personal responsibility, the Stitt's sure don't seem to show it!
Thanks to a tip via the Ogle Mole Network, we've learned that Kent David Stitt – the younger brother of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt – was ticketed last month in Kiowa County for not wearing orange while hunting.
Yep, that's right. He didn't wear orange while going out to kill an animal in the wilderness. That's kind of surprising. Considering he's a diehard OSU fan, you'd think Kent could have borrowed one of Kevin's old OSU Cheese-It Bowl t-shirts for the hunting excursion! At the very least, he could have sported a Mike Gundy camo sporting tee:
The actual citation is only available at the Kiowa County courthouse in far southwestern Oklahoma, so the full details are a bit sketchy. If you live in that area of the state and want to grab the documents for us, feel free to do so.
On OSCN, we can see that Kent David was ticketed by Game Warden David Smith on December 14th at something called "N 2320 SIMS PROP" in Kiowa County. According to OSDR, Kent David hired a lawyer and paid $354 in court costs for the offense on Dec. 27th.
Here's a screenshot:
Give the Stitt's credit. They're consistent in their values. Whether it's wearing a mask to prevent catching a virus, or donning a bright color to avoid catching a bullet, they're macho tough guys who don't seem to care very much about their own safety.
Right now, I assume some of you, especially the right-wing "Let's Go Brandon" hunter types, are yelling at your screen – "Who cares! It's the gubernors brother! This aint news!"
That may be true, but....
1. Here at The Lost Ogle, we always get a kick out of covering the stupid exploits of our first families! It doesn't matter if a Governor's kid is taking weird engagement photos – or if a Governor's wife is treating our roads like a Demolition Derby – we always like to laugh at our first family!
2. I wonder if there's more to this than just a simple hunting infraction?
A few weeks ago, right before Christmas, The Frontier reported that Stitt's older brother – Marvin Keith Stitt – was trying to use the McGirt case to get out of a speeding ticket in the Tulsa area. He's claiming that since he's kind of Cherokee, and the offense took place on tribal land, that it should be dismissed.
You can read the full story here, but the whole thing reaks of political games at work. As we know, Kevin Stitt claims the McGirt case is the most serious issue facing our state and wants the Supreme Court or Congress to overturn it. I would assume that getting courts to apply McGirt to minor things like traffic tickets, wildlife department fines and other minor cotations is part of his strategy to muddy those waters, and get the courts to take a second look.
On that note, Kent David's offense occurred in Kiowa County, which is where the Kiowa Comanche Apache Reservation was located. I use the word "was" because, just last week on December 30th, The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled the reservation was disestablished in the 1900s, and not part of the McGirt decision.
Via The Oklahoman:
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday that Congress officially disestablished the Kiowa Comanche Apache Reservation in southwestern Oklahoma and that the state had jurisdiction to prosecute a Native American for crimes committed on land that had been part of the reservation...
In its ruling on Thursday, the court for the first time rejected an attempt to extend the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in McGirt v Oklahoma beyond the Muscogee (Creek) reservation. In the McGirt decision, the high court ruled that Congress had never officially disestablished the Creek reservation and that convicted child rapist Jimcy McGirt, a Native American, was wrongly tried in an Oklahoma state court for crimes committed on Creek land.
That's interesting, because if the Court of Appeals had ruled the other way, the Stitt family would have had another minor non-criminal case ready to go for a McGirt appeal! How convenient! It makes you wonder if that was the plan all along, especially when you consider that Kiowa County is an easy 350 miles away from Kent David's listed hometown of Skiatook, otherwise known as the Stitt Stomping Grounds.
Then again, that's just a conspiracy theory that's based on a wild hunch that makes sense. It's probably just a big coincidence that Kent David got busted for a civil infraction a few hundred miles away from home just a few weeks before the State Court of Criminal Appeals announced their ruling. I bet the real reason Kent David wasn't wearing orange was that it's an ugly color... or maybe he was just out poaching and didn't want to get caught.
Anyway, if you're an Ogle Mole in Kiowa County and want to grab the court documents for us, feel free. Until then, stay with The Lost Ogle. We'll keep you advised.
