By John Dobberstein, Editor
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has shut down an investigation into the failed grand jury petition that targeted Wagoner County’s district attorney and sheriff earlier this year.
In a letter to Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp, Drummond said he reviewed the county’s investigative file related to the allegations about some of the petition signers, and his office also spoke with the Wagoner County Election Board about signatures that were disallowed by a judge.
Drummond said the file had been requested by his office before Thorp’s request for a special prosecutor was sent by letter.
The Criminal Justice Division of Drummond’s office reviewed the investigative file and based on those findings, and the information received from the Election Board, “I have determined that further investigation is not warranted. This matter is now closed,” Drummond said in his letter.
Wagoner County Citizens Against Corruption petitioned last May for a grand jury to be impaneled to investigate alleged misconduct by Thorp and Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott. WCCAC wanted a grand jury seated to investigate allegedly “criminal” acts by the Sheriff’s Department in the deaths of county jail inmate Angela Liggans and motorist Jeffrey Krueger, and the failure of Thorp to prosecute any of the corrections officers or law enforcement involved in the two cases.
Thorp and Elliott have flatly denied all of the allegations. A Pittsburgh County judge approved the petition, but organizers failed to gather enough signatures to trigger the request, a judge ruled.
After that ruling, rumors began circulating that the sheriff’s department was investigating the petition signatures, which proved to be true when Wagoner County Sheriff’s Det. Danny Elliott obtained copies of the ballot signatures in July through a search warrant over allegations of illegal activity.
Petition organizers, however, expressed concern the investigation was in retaliation for the citizens organizing and pursuing the ouster of Thorp and Elliott.
District 33 State Sen. Christi Gillespie (R-Broken Arrow) said she had spoken to Drummond – as well as Wagoner County elected officials, federal lawmakers and other state legislators – after fielding concerns from citizens about the probe.
“I’ve also asked for suggestions on how our citizens can report issues they don’t feel comfortable reporting to their local or county law enforcement office,” Gillespie said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
District 98 State Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow) sent a letter to Drummond in July expressing concern from citizens who feared retaliation for exercising their rights. Woolley said several constituents contacted him directly, “expressing fear for their personal safety and growing distrust in their local government.
“In my opinion, this appears to be a clear case of government power being weaponized against the people. Rather than respecting the lawful and constitutional process of petitioning a grand jury, this response seems designed to intimidate and silence citizens who are seeking accountability from their elected officials,” Woolley wrote.
“I am deeply concerned that such actions undermine public trust, chill civic engagement, and violate the principles of transparency and accountability that should guide all levels of government.”
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