An Oklahoma man is facing charges for damaging the weather radar equipment of a local TV station, the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced.
Anthony Tyler Mitchell, 39, allegedly vandalized the power supply of News 9’s NextGen live radar. He is charged with malicious injury or destruction of property, and damage to equipment in a critical infrastructure facility. Both are felonies. In addition, Mitchell faces a misdemeanor of entering with the intent to commit a felony.
Drummond said in a statement that the alleged crime is “much more than vandalism of property.”
“Weather radar is not a ‘weather weapon.’ Radar technology is vitally important and saves the lives of countless Oklahomans every year,” Drummond said. “This individual’s alleged action is not simply wrong; it imperiled public safety. My office is committed to protecting critical infrastructure and holding accountable anyone who willfully damages it.”
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News 9 reported that Mitchell may have been influenced by an anti-government militia group that believes the military is using radars to alter the weather.
Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, the founder of the militia group Veterans On Patrol, told the news station that the group claimed responsibility for the vandalism and has targeted other weather radars in the state.
Topics Oklahoma
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