Oklahoma county official resigns after threatening remarks caught on tape

Governor's office confirms resignation of one of several officials to discuss killing reporters and lynching Black people

A county commissioner in far south-east Oklahoma who was identified by a local newspaper as one of several officials caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people has resigned from office, the state's governor confirmed on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Governor Kevin Stitt, Carly Atchison, said their office received a handwritten resignation letter from the McCurtain county commissioner Mark Jennings. In it, Jennings says he is resigning immediately and that he plans to release a formal statement in the near future regarding the recent events in our county".