McAlester Blog Battle Moves To Kay County

By Susan Hylton/Tulsa World ~ The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office has appointed the Kay County District Attorney's Office to handle a Pittsburg County case in which its district attorney accuses a Web site operator of libel.

Pittsburg County District Attorney Jim Bob Miller recused himself from the case after making a complaint with the McAlester Police Department against the Watercooler Web site's operator, Harold King.

Some of the comments have accused Miller of being involved in drug-dealing and other corruption and criticized his prosecutorial decisions.

Kay County, which borders Kansas, and its county seat, Newkirk, are far from Pittsburg County, in southeastern Oklahoma. Kay County District Attorney Mark Gibson said he knows nothing about the case and that more than likely he would be handling it personally. "I've been to McAlester twice in my life," he said.

Gibson also will look at complaints filed by Wayne Stipe and his mother, Billie Jean Stipe, the widow of businessman Francis Stipe, who accuse King of slander and "imputing unchastity to females."

A recent blog post on the site suggested that Francis Stipe's brother, former state Sen. Gene Stipe, actually fathered Wayne Stipe.

Gibson also will consider whether to file assault charges against Wayne Stipe for allegedly punching King in the mouth outside a McAlester grocery store Aug. 9.

King filed a complaint against Miller for allegedly filing a false instrument in connection with a subpoena he received demanding that he provide police with the identities of 35 posters on the Web site. King said Miller's subpoena was invalid because no issuing authority was identified in the paperwork.

King also filed a complaint against Wayne Stipe and Billie Jean Stipe for allegedly filing a false police report. Richard Hull, the first assistant district attorney for Pittsburg County, considers King's complaints to be retaliatory, according to a letter he signed to the attorney general asking that Miller be removed from the case.

Share |

McAlester Blog Wars Erupt Again

From The Tulsa World ~ Two men who post on a Web forum that is accused of libeling the Pittsburg County district attorney have filed their own complaint with the U.S. Attorney's Office against a blog that they believe is guilty of cyber stalking.

The anonymous operator of www.realmcalester.blogspot.com describes it as a satiric blog that makes fun of the McAlester Watercooler, www.mccooler.net, which has been highly critical of former state Sen. Gene Stipe and, recently, District Attorney Jim Bob Miller, who filed a libel complaint with the McAlester police last week.

The blog uses imagery and obviously superimposed photographs of Harold King, the operator of the Watercooler, and Chris Clark, who posts on the Watercooler under the name "Mr. Busby."

Read the entire story at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectID=12&articleID=20080819_12_A7_hTheyh220091.

Share |

McAlester DA Jim Miller's Action Stirs Firestorm

By Tony Thornton/The Oklahoman, From McAlester ~ District Attorney Jim Miller was so outraged by what people wrote about him on a local message board that he filed a police complaint.

The ensuing investigation and subpoena targeting 35 anonymous posters have caused a firestorm stretching far beyond McAlester's city limits.

A journalism professor and First Amendment advocate calls Miller's actions "the kind of thing you'd expect in a police state."

Miller counters that free speech has restrictions. The allegations written about him on a site called the McAlester Watercooler (mccooler.net) are so offensive that he is the victim of a crime, Miller claims.

"I'm alleging that a person or persons have slandered me by accusing me of various things, but mostly that I'm a drug dealer, that I have killed an entire family in a car wreck while high on drugs and that I take bribes and pay bribes,” Miller said Thursday.

"I defy anybody, anywhere, to say that is protected by the First Amendment,” Miller said.

Miller said he provided police with comment threads on the site about him from 10 dates since October 2007.

That prompted two McAlester police detectives to show up at McCooler administrator Harold King's door Tuesday. They delivered a subpoena requiring King to produce identifying information about 35 people who posted under pseudonyms on the site.

King filed a formal objection Thursday, saying he won't comply because the subpoena doesn't indicate on whose authority it was issued.

A legal expert told The Oklahoman that only a judge or a prosecutor can authorize such a subpoena. Miller said he didn't authorize it; he simply filed a police complaint "like any other citizen.”

Whether Miller formally authorized the subpoena or not, it "smacks of intimidation,” said Joey Senat, past president of Freedom of Information Oklahoma and an associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University.

"It's anti-democratic. In other words, our government officials should expect to be criticized. ... To threaten someone with any sort of crime for doing that is nothing short of unacceptable,” Senat said.

He said if Miller thinks he has been libeled on the Web site, he should file a civil lawsuit.

Oklahoma is among 16 states with criminal libel laws still on the books, according to the Student Press Law Center. Most recently, Utah abolished its law in 2007.

Oklahoma's libel law was last changed by legislators in 1895, according to a textbook by Senat, "Mass Communication Law in Oklahoma.” The law prohibits false written speech that exposes someone to hatred, contempt or ridicule.

Former state Sen. Gene Stipe, a frequent target of King's Web site, filed a criminal libel complaint against King in 2005. Miller's predecessor declined to file charges.

At that time, an official with the state agency that represents district attorneys said he'd never heard of a criminal libel report being filed with police, much less filed as a charge by a prosecutor.

Share |

Subpoena Served On Forum Operator As McAlester DA Seeks Identities Of Anonymous Posters

By Tony Thornton/The Oklahoman ~ An online message board operator said Tuesday he won't comply with a subpoena ordering him to supply identities of people who issued critical posts about McAlester officials.

Harold King said two McAlester police detectives delivered the subpoena to him Tuesday.
The subpoena orders him to provide details by Saturday on 35 bloggers posting under pseudonyms on King's site, http://www.mccooler.net/.

He said he researched posts under those pseudonyms and found one common denominator: All had written critically about Pittsburg County District Attorney Jim Miller (pictured).

Miller said by telephone: "I can't comment on any investigation, and whether one's going on or not.”

The subpoena doesn't say who issued it. A legal expert contacted by The Oklahoman said only two authorities — a prosecutor and a judge — can issue a subpoena in a criminal matter.

His subpoena is the most recent of King's troubles traced to his Web site. The site focuses on McAlester politics — particularly matters related to former state Sen. Gene Stipe.

In December 2005, King filed a police report claiming Stipe assaulted him. Stipe and his brother Francis filed a stalking complaint, accusing King of harassing them. Gene Stipe also obtained a protective order against King and accused him of libel.

Last weekend, King filed a police report accusing Francis Stipe's son, Wayne, of punching him in the face at a local grocery store.

Miller wouldn't say whether he plans to file assault charges.

An advocate of open government said he's concerned the subpoena could have "a chilling effect.”

"It just smacks of trying to chill criticism,” said Joey Senat, past president of FOI Oklahoma Inc. and associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University.
"We have a right to speak anonymously, especially about political matters,” Senat said.

Share |

Francis Stipe's Son, McAlester Watercooler Operator Harold King Involved In 'Altercation'

The crusading operator of the McAlester Watercooler web site and the son of the late Francis Stipe were involved in an "altercation" in McAlester on Saturday, it's reported today.

The incident is being investigated by McAlester police.

McAlester Police Capt. Don Hass said the incident involving Wayne Stipe and Harold King took place outside a local grocery store. An incident report on the case said it is being investigated as an assault and battery.

Police said Stipe and King, who operates the McAlester Watercooler that has been critical of the late Francis Stipe and his brother, Gene Stipe, both went to a McAlester hospital after the incident. Hass said King had a bloody lip and Stipe had a hand injury.

No arrests had been made in the case as of Monday morning.

Hass said a copy of the report would be turned over to the office of District Attorney Jim Bob Miller.

"It happened outside the store and there are different stories as to what happened," Hass said.

In a post on the site, King said Stipe accosted him outside the store after a brief, non-confrontational encounter inside the store. King writes that Stipe followed him out, "mumbled something" and then hit him in the face, after which Stipe got into his car and drove off.

Share |