Latest news with #OklahomaCityPolice
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Far-right extremist group threatens to take weather radars offline
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An Oklahoma City news station's weather radar was attacked not long after a far-right extremist group threatened to take 'as many NexRads offline as possible.' 'It started with the chemtrails, and then it moved into Hurricane Helene,' said Southern Poverty Law Center senior research analyst Rachel Goldwasser. Goldwasser and her colleagues have been monitoring the far-right group known as 'Veterans on Patrol.' She said their threats to take weather radars offline are relatively new. Oklahoma City Police could not confirm yet that the attack on the local news station's radar and the group's threat are connected. However, the group made similar threats around the time Hurricane Helene went through South Carolina. 'We intend to take as many NexRads offline as possible once our attack simulations have prepared us,' posted the group's leader, Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer. 'He has now moved to Oklahoma,' said Goldwasser. Meyer has been arrested several times and has been outspoken often in the past on issues that have turned out to be conspiracy theories. 'He's become very vehemently against the military and its members, and I do think that could pose a danger in the future as well,' said Goldwasser. Sebastian Torres, who works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has worked with weather radars for decades, was asked if weather radars could be used as weather weapons. 'Yeah, that's impossible,' he said. 'Our goal is to provide the best information that we can to our forecasters so that they can make the best interpretation of that data. And issue timely warnings to save lives and property,' Torres said. 'You don't see it. There's nothing that can be done to change things (weather).' 'They shouldn't believe it,' Robert Palmer, dean of Oklahoma University's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, said of the conspiracy theories. When asked what people should do when they hear about the existence of a conspiracy like 'weather weapons,' Palmer, who is also the director of the National Weather Center, said, 'Maybe they talk to their friends and tell them, you know, why it doesn't make any sense. I mean, a weather radar is a system just to protect lives and property. That's the only goal.' This conspiracy follows the devastating and deadly flooding in Texas as well. Goldwasser said that combined with the ideas that Veterans on Patrol pushes out, it more than likely inspired others to either believe or act on them. Law Enforcement said they are aware of the group and the threats made on social media. Oklahoma City Police, as of Wednesday afternoon, said they hadn't made an arrest directly connected to the radar attack in the metro. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
10-07-2025
- Climate
- The Hill
Far-right extremist group threatens to take weather radars offline
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — An Oklahoma City news station's weather radar was attacked not long after a far-right extremist group threatened to take 'as many NexRads offline as possible.' 'It started with the chemtrails, and then it moved into Hurricane Helene,' said Southern Poverty Law Center senior research analyst Rachel Goldwasser. Goldwasser and her colleagues have been monitoring the far-right group known as 'Veterans on Patrol.' She said their threats to take weather radars offline are relatively new. Oklahoma City Police could not confirm yet that the attack on the local news station's radar and the group's threat are connected. However, the group made similar threats around the time Hurricane Helene went through South Carolina. 'We intend to take as many NexRads offline as possible once our attack simulations have prepared us,' posted the group's leader, Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer. 'He has now moved to Oklahoma,' said Goldwasser. Meyer has been arrested several times and has been outspoken often in the past on issues that have turned out to be conspiracy theories. 'He's become very vehemently against the military and its members, and I do think that could pose a danger in the future as well,' said Goldwasser. Sebastian Torres, who works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has worked with weather radars for decades, was asked if weather radars could be used as weather weapons. 'Yeah, that's impossible,' he said. 'Our goal is to provide the best information that we can to our forecasters so that they can make the best interpretation of that data. And issue timely warnings to save lives and property,' Torres said. 'You don't see it. There's nothing that can be done to change things (weather).' 'They shouldn't believe it,' Robert Palmer, dean of Oklahoma University's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, said of the conspiracy theories. When asked what people should do when they hear about the existence of a conspiracy like 'weather weapons,' Palmer, who is also the director of the National Weather Center, said, 'Maybe they talk to their friends and tell them, you know, why it doesn't make any sense. I mean, a weather radar is a system just to protect lives and property. That's the only goal.' This conspiracy follows the devastating and deadly flooding in Texas as well. Goldwasser said that combined with the ideas that Veterans on Patrol pushes out, it more than likely inspired others to either believe or act on them. Law Enforcement said they are aware of the group and the threats made on social media. Oklahoma City Police, as of Wednesday afternoon, said they hadn't made an arrest directly connected to the radar attack in the metro.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Victim missing in Deep Fork River found Saturday with OKC police drone
The body of a man who reportedly drowned after jumping into rushing water near Luther has been recovered, authorities said. According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, a 22-year-old man jumped into the Deep Fork River around 1 p.m. Friday, July 4, and did not resurface. Authorities began an initial rescue operation on Friday in response to the incident, which occurred at NE 178th and Peebly Road, but postponed it that evening due to hazardous conditions. 'They did suspend the search yesterday evening, and they resumed it this morning at 8 a.m., and we had an Oklahoma City police drone up, and fire was on the scene as well, along with some surrounding agencies that were assisting,' police Sgt. Rob Robertson told The Oklahoman. After about three hours of searching, authorities located the man's body in the water. 'The Oklahoma City police drone located the victim downstream at about 11 a.m. this morning, and the Oklahoma City Fire and dive team recovered the body,' Robertson said. 'They immediately notified the family, and then the body was released to the medical examiner's office, and we had supervisors for both the fire department and the police department that really commended the firefighters, the dive team and the police officers for their joint effort in what was a very difficult and unfortunate, tragic situation.' Authorities have not released any additional information about the victim at this time. This is a developing story. Follow updates on This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Body of man who jumped into Deep Fork River July Fourth found by drone
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How big was the OKC Thunder parade attendance? What officials, social media said
Hundreds of thousands descended on downtown Oklahoma City to celebrate the OKC Thunder and the city's first-ever NBA Championship. Throughout the two-mile parade route — which wound past the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, City Hall, Scissortail Park and the Oklahoma City Convention Center — attendees cheered as the Oklahoma City Thunder players chose walking the streets and greeting fans over staying atop their double-decker buses. Advertisement While the number of people in attendance was the largest single gathering in Oklahoma City history, there was some debate online over whether the crowd size was impressive. Here's what we know. How many people attended the OKC Thunder parade? While an Oklahoma news outlet has reported a crowd size estimate, citing the Oklahoma City Police, Master Sgt. Gary Knight told The Oklahoman the police are not releasing any crowd size estimates. An official estimate will come from the Downtown OKC Partnership in the coming days. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who enthusiastically participated in the parade from the bed of a pickup truck with his wife and two children, lauded the number of fans who showed up to support their team. Advertisement "There are 712,000 people who live in OKC, and there may have been more people than that today on the streets of Downtown," he said in an Instagram post. "For two uninterrupted miles, Thunder fans were stacked deep on both sides of the street to celebrate, and tens of thousands gathered in Scissortail Park. Whatever the total number, it was unquestionably the largest gathering in our city's history." More: Experience the 2025 NBA Finals champions parade for OKC Thunder downtown, in photos What people said about OKC Thunder parade attendance Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walks past the crowd. Fans watch the parade in the area of City Hall and Bicentennial Park. The Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate their first NBA Finals title win with a champions parade throughout downtown Oklahoma City, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Despite the large crowds lined up along the parade route, there were many online who either believed false claims that very few showed up or compared the parade to those that have been held in larger cities and even larger metropolitan areas. Advertisement A video clip of a different, poorly attended parade, was making the rounds from a satirical X account called @TheNBACentel which claimed it was the Thunder's parade. While official crowd estimates have not been released, the closest comparison to a championship parade in OKC is the 2021 championship parade for the Milwaukee Bucks, which attracted around 500,000. While this number is for the entire parade itself, one Pacers fan compared images of the post-parade gathering at Scissortail Park and compared it to a similar image in Milwaukee, which appeared to include more people than the Oklahoma City photo. For population context, Milwaukee itself has about 140,000 fewer residents, but something most outside of Oklahoma don't consider is Oklahoma City's sheer land size. OKC is more than six times larger in land area (621 square miles) than Milwaukee (96 square miles), with residents spread out across the city. Advertisement According to HoopSocial, OKC is the third-smallest NBA market, right below Milwaukee. According to the site, Milwaukee has a larger tv market by about 170,000 people, even before considering the larger metro population. When considering metro area populations, the Milwaukee metro has about 130,000 more people — but again, the Oklahoma City metro area is vastly more spread out, meaning metro residents may have further to drive to attend a parade in downtown OKC. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How many attended OKC Thunder parade? What officials, social media say
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How police are preparing for OKC Thunder NBA championship parade
Law enforcement agencies across the Oklahoma City metro are coordinating for what could be the biggest party in the city's history. Authorities expect as many as hundreds of thousands of people to pour into downtown Tuesday, June 24, to celebrate the Thunder's NBA Finals victory at the Champions Parade. Due to the large-scale nature of the celebration, OKC police have asked for help from law enforcement agencies in surrounding communities and the broader state, including the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma National Guard. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Sarah Stewart said the agency was helping implement a traffic plan, with increased Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers Tuesday along major highways coming in and out of OKC. City council members for Yukon, a suburb west of OKC, also approved members of its police force to assist with the parade. Yukon Police Chief John Corn said partner agencies held meetings right up until Friday, June 20, as various OKC departments planned the event, which became a reality Sunday night when the Thunder secured the title. "It's quite elaborate planning," Corn said. More: Half a million are expected downtown for the championship parade. How are businesses preparing? The Moore Police and Norman Police departments, stationed in suburbs south of OKC, and the Edmond Police Department, headquartered just north, also have been asked to assist. Moore spokesman Clint Byley said members of Moore police would be present in downtown OKC as part of the South Metro SWAT Team, a multi-jurisdictional unit that also includes Norman police and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. For OKC police, Tuesday's parade will come less than 48 hours after another major event — Sunday night's championship game at the Paycom Center downtown. Police also planned ahead for that event, blocking off inbound traffic into downtown OKC's Bricktown area late Sunday immediately after the team's win. OKC police Sgt. Gary Knight said that, given the historic nature of the celebration, police saw few issues Sunday night into Monday downtown. "It was pretty peaceful, and we had a lot of people out there, but there was nothing major that happened," Knight said. "As far as police work goes, people behaved themselves, for the most part, really well." Police did respond to a shooting around 10:30 p.m. Sunday on the east side of Scissortail Park. Knight said a teenager was shot and had injuries that were not life-threatening. While there was concern on social media about the shooting's possible connection to the championship given the park's proximity to the Paycom Center, Knight said the incident was not related "in any way, shape, form or fashion to the game or the post-game celebration." One person was initially detained in connection to the shooting, but Knight said no arrest had been made as of early Monday. After Sunday night's game, some fans of the team were videoed jumping for joy into the Bricktown Canal. The city's Parks and Recreation Department later advised residents against doing so. While the parks department did not mention it directly, many on social media recalled a tragic situation when a man died and another was injured after being electrocuted by a broken light at the Bricktown Canal in 2018. "Listen, we get it. THUNDER UP! But you guys: stop jumping in the canal," the parks department said in social media posts Monday. "First of all, it's against the rules. Second of all, our nanobubble scrubber technology is still working to clear the water. And there is, um, a ways to go before that's all good." More: What could an Oklahoma City Thunder victory parade look like? The city's various departments have also been at work for weeks to plan Tuesday's parade, ever since the Thunder made the NBA playoffs in early June. City management announced Monday that city offices would close and most city services would be unavailable on the day of the parade. "Conducting City business in person downtown will be almost impossible on parade day, so I decided to close," City Manager Craig Freeman said in a statement. "Closing will also make more parking available for the thousands of people attending the parade. Plus, many of our Utilities, Parks and Public Works crews are needed to support parade operations." Ahead of the parade, OKC Police Chief Ron Bacy encouraged people to bring the "best versions of yourself" to the celebration, adding that the Thunder had represented the city well in the NBA competition and that residents should want to match the team's efforts. "We want to make sure that we represent them the way that they've represented us on the biggest stage: with dignity, with class, and with respect," Bacy said. More: Security efforts are ramping up at Paycom Center as the Thunder enters NBA Finals He also said that attendees should have a plan before they arrive on how to reunify if they end up lost or separated from their party. "Again, we want everyone to stay safe," Bacy said. "If you see something, say something." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA Championship parade: How OKC police are preparing for the party
