Wednesday, February 11, 2026 • Sunny to partly cloudy, cooler. Upper 50s. ⛅

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By Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Lawmakers advanced a bill out of committee that would implement harsher penalties for rioters, including longer prison terms and requirements that out-of-state residents be held without bail. 

Rep. Mark Lepak, R-Claremore, said he’s “resurrecting” some of his legislative ideas from 2020 in House Bill 3581, including barring people from wearing masks to conceal their identities during riots without “lawful reason” and denying out-of-state rioters bail.

While he said it’s been several years since rioting happened in Oklahoma, he said it’s happening in other parts of the country as people have pushed back against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and National Guard deployments. 

The measure would also make aggravated assault and battery, vandalizing buildings, and obstructing a public street or highway felonies if they are committed during a riot. The bill passed from the House Criminal Judiciary Committee 5-1. 

Lepak’s bill would make wearing a “mask, hood, covering, or disguise without lawful excuse” during a riot be guilty of a felony with the potential penalty of up to two years imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,500, or both. The penalties for the other criminal offenses would range from two to 10 years with fines reaching up to $5,000. 

As federal immigration agents face criticisms for wearing masks while carrying out enforcement activities, Lepak said the bill would carve out exceptions for masking for law enforcement.

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A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Drummond still leads GOP gubernatorial field, says new independent poll (Tulsa World)*

• OKC Mayor David Holt reelected to third term (NonDoc)

• Voters pass Deer Creek School District bond proposal (KOCO)

• Norman voters decide on City Council seats (KOCO)

• Fire breaks out at Ardmore Valero refinery, hospitalizes five (KXII)

• Federal lawsuit alleges a ‘culture of abuse and neglect’ for students with disabilities in Tulsa Public Schools (Tulsa Flyer)

• Four Tulsa Public Schools elementaries to come off federal improvement list (Tulsa World)*

• City to pay $800,000 to settle lawsuit alleging Tulsa police failed a rape victim (Tulsa World)*

• Oklahoma high court rebukes lawmakers’ request to keep data private (Oklahoma Voice)

• Bills tied to Samantha Fulnecky essay controversy, undocumented student privileges make progress (KFOR)

• Amid ICE fears and Epstein revelations, Tulsans plan to rally every Friday to denounce Trump (Public Radio Tulsa)

• There’s a new push to evict what some call a ‘Klan trophy’ from Tulsa’s oldest park (Tulsa Flyer)

• Oklahoma-based federal ag workforce lost nearly 1 in 5 of its employees last year (KOSU)

• Madill city council addresses ongoing odor complaints (KTEN)

• Greenwood Rising’s ‘Freedom Fridays’ offers free admission to history center (Tulsa Flyer)

• Muscogee Nation conducts first international repatriation, reestablishes diplomacy with Scottish leadership (KOSU)

• This Valentine’s, Sunbeam seeks foster parents to open their hearts and homes (The Gayly)

• Former NFL, Tulsa football player Tracy Scroggins dies at 56 (KOSU)

By Elizabeth Caldwell, Oklahoma Watch
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A Stillwater high school student convicted of sexual assault, who last year became the focus of national attention for what critics called a lenient sentence, is again under scrutiny, as Payne County pursues a case against another teenager accused of similar but lesser crimes. 

👉 Click here for the full story.

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