Past Speaker McCall Puts Gov Ambitions Over Kids: Grand Jury Petitioner Arrested Twice after Naming McCall & Others
McCall Moves to Halt Investigation of DHS, Courts & Oversight Malfeasance as Stitt Lawyer Turned Judge Smacks Petitioner with $1 Million Bond
Grand Jury Petitioner Darrell Dougherty Arrested Twice in One Day for Protecting Son: Judge Came from Stitt’s Office
On August 27th, this journalist filled in as guest host of the ROPE Report, an Oklahoma-based podcast, and presented a shocking interview with father and Stillwater small business owner Darrell Dougherty.
Dougherty, a white, straight, Christian male, has been the target of unlawful treatment by an increasingly progressive and discriminatory OKDHS, Stillwater Police Department and Payne County District Court related to his more than a decade long battle to keep his son from a previous marriage safe from abuse while in his former spouse’s care.
Link to hear Dougherty’s full story in his own words:
Dougherty is also a co-petitioner on a grand jury petition filed on July 21, 2025, in Payne County by Oklahomans for Children's Rights that specifically calls out Payne County district court judges, OKDHS and many others for malfeasance within the child welfare and family court systems.
The grand jury petition is assigned to Judge Jason Reece, former general counsel to Gov Kevin Stitt (R). In December of 2024, Stitt very quietly appointed Reece as district judge over Logan and Payne Counties.
On the day following our interview, Dougherty was arrested twice in just one afternoon for withholding his 11-year-old son. Dougherty had properly filed and informed both the court and law enforcement in writing that his son felt unsafe in his mother’s home and did not feel he could defend either himself or his little sister from ongoing abuse.
After those filings and notifications, Dougherty repeatedly emailed the court asking for the legally required emergency hearing so the child could speak for himself (this publication has those emails).
Dougherty petitioned for a protective order on August 22nd, and was immediately denied by Judge Reece. Dougherty’s motion to reconsider the order has never been addressed by Reece, the judge presiding over Dougherty’s request for a grand jury to investigate, among other things, district court judges.
On the morning of August 28th, Dougherty then went to the Supreme Court for relief and met with judicial referee Kyle Rogers concerning the lack of due process. Rogers confirmed he understood Dougherty’s case and his concern for his son, self and family. Rogers indicated he would carry that information to the state’s highest court.
It appears unlikely the Oklahoma State Supreme Court will be of help to Dougherty. Just three (3) days earlier, on the very day Dougherty was served an order by Associate District Judge Nikki Leach suspending his parental visitation and granting police the right to use all necessary force to take his son, Oklahoma State Supreme Court Chief Justice Rowe visited the Payne County District Court to “thank the judges and court staff for their devotion to public service”.
Arrest 1: With due process repeatedly denied, on August 28th, Dougherty voluntarily appeared with his bondsman on a warrant issued by Associate District Judge Nikki Leach and was processed by the Payne County Sheriff’s department after paying $7,800 on the ordered bond.
Due to an outstanding motion to disqualify Judge Leach from the case (filed April 29, 2025) that contains 40 exhibits of evidence related to his lack of impartiality, Leach should no longer have been interfering in Dougherty’s divorce and custody case. Nevertheless, Leach ordered Dougherty’s arrest. Judge Leach has a history of failing to recuse himself from cases when conflicts of interest arise.
Arrest 2: Just hours later, as Dougherty was attending a soccer game for his 5-year-old child, Stillwater Police arrested him on a particularly shady “Not Filed” warrant involving multiple charges with a staggering $1 million bond amount.
According to Dougherty, Stillwater Police officer Cody Manuel, who had just notarized the involved probable cause statement by fellow officer Jeremy Rager stating Dougherty had violated his custody order, was also at the same soccer game watching his child play as Dougherty was arrested without presentation of a warrant.
Still no hearing was arranged to allow Dougherty’s older son to share his experiences of abuse. With his father in jail and his voice silenced, Dougherty’s 11-year-old son turned to the Payne County Youth Services shelter for protection.
Dougherty says he got a late night cell visit in which he was informed a standing order was blocking the removal of his son from the protection of the shelter, but if Dougherty would turn him over to police, his bond would be lowered to $250,000.
Dougherty refused and Judge Leach then ordered the child to be picked up from the protection of the shelter and returned to his mother. Dougherty has not heard from his son since.
Concerning the order, Dougherty states, “Judge Nikki Leach has been expressly forbidden from proceeding in this case since April 29 of this year. This order very clearly shows him impersonating a higher judge, abusing his power, Interfering in the protection of children, violating his oath of office, and intentionally putting a child in harms way.”
The following day, Dougherty’s family put up another $25,000 to bond him out on the reduced amount. Only after the dirty deeds were complete did Judge Reece transfer the case from secret to public.
Sen Grellner Balks on Petition as Former Speaker McCall Files to Kill Any Investigation into OKDHS & Courts
The Payne County grand jury petition specifically names 19 elected officials, bureaucrats, judges, and lawyers, including former House Speaker and 2026 candidate for governor Charles McCall (R) and current Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R), as having colluded in crimes against children and families.
Those alleged crimes include conspiracy, collusion, failing to report and/or investigate child abuse, falsifying documents, fraud, perjury, misuse of public funds, obstructing investigations, silencing, threatening and harassing victims and witnesses, denying equal access to courts, failing to recuse or address conflicts of interest, dereliction of duty, racketeering and aiding and abetted crimes committed by peers.
Specific to both the current and former House Speakers, the petition states:
The petition was signed by Dougherty and a truly bipartisan group of current and former state legislators including former Sen Constance N. Johnson (D), candidate for lieutenant governor Rep Justin Humphrey (R), Rep Trish Ranson (D), and Sen Randy Grellner (R).
Despite reportedly having already collected as many as 60 signatures on the petition, just one month after its filing, Cushing/Stillwater doctor and State Senator Grellner filed with the court to remove his name from the petition claiming he failed to “read the entire petition” and was never aware it “specifically named individuals” as having committed crimes.
Grellner went on to label those named within the petition as “extremely honorable public servants that have dedicated their lives to protect and pursue justice for all citizens”.
V1SUT reached out to Grellner and asked if he had communicated with anyone named on the petition since its filing a month earlier, the nature of those conversations, how many signatures he had already collected and whether those signatures have been submitted. Grellner has not responded. One might assume the political cabal has neutered another self-proclaimed people’s champion.
Just days later, and despite there being no legal obligation to provide prior notification to those named in the petition, McCall entered a motion to be heard in the case, leaned on Grellner’s withdrawal and whined that his former House colleague Justin Humphrey had not come to him first.
McCall then demanded he be notified and given power to weigh in on all aspects of the petition case.
Just four (4) days after McCall’s initial demands on the court, his attorney moved to both quash the entire petition for what amounts to a lack of evidence and oppose a request by Oklahomans for Children’s Rights for the court to order the grand jury inquiry due to retaliation against Dougherty.
Petitions for a grand jury essentially ask for an investigation to allow the gathering of evidence often hidden by the powers that be. McCall is observably trying to stop that investigation. Oddly, within McCall’s current campaign for governor, he claims to be a champion for parents’ rights who “puts our faith, our families and our liberties first”.
McCall’s motion discounts the sincerity of the remaining petitioners, picks at the organization named to represent their serious concerns and fusses over titles not provided.
Public Outcry for Child Welfare Policy & Fiscal Reform Mounting: Audit & Interim Study Reveal Shocking Malfeasance
OKDHS Fiscal Concerns: During August, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd’s office released findings that OKDHS had “mismanaged” nearly $64 million in COVID relief funds during 2023, mostly through childcare programs.
"One recipient who operated a daycare out of their private home used the money to install granite countertops in their kitchen," stated Byrd. "In fact, there were several instances of home daycares taking child care development funds and using them for lavish bath or kitchen remodels, some costing between $30,000 and $40,000. Another recipient spent $20,000 to pay off a Cadillac."
In a nearly mirror image of Byrd’s findings concerning OMES, the director of OKDHS Childcare Services awarded a $2 million contract to her spouse’s business that paid key players million-dollar salaries. OKDHS also monkeyed with its star rating system which indicates each provider’s quality of care level to inflate subsidies.
OKDHS Child Welfare Concerns: On August 28th, Rep Gabe Woolley’s held an interim study before the House Criminal and Judicial Committee related to proposed House Bills 1164 & 1100 concerning needed OKDHS reform.
If you are unsure whether a grand jury should be empaneled to investigate the state’s child welfare system, you should watch or listen to the testimony provided by child welfare workers, CASAs, parents, grandparents, lawyers and engaged lawmakers involving undeniable overreach, misuse of power and lack of transparency within the state’s child welfare system.
Darrell Dougherty spoke by video just hours before his arrest (timestamp 1:27:30 - 1:40:08) and V1SUT’s investigative work on the Lincoln Lochman case was shared (timestamp 2:48:30 - 3:06:00).
Lincoln continues to be separated from his parents and in harm’s way. You can donate to the Lochman family’s legal fund to help bring Lincoln home here.
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