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A fourth-grader in Pottawatomie County was served with a court-issued protective order while attending elementary school, raising questions about both judicial decision-making and law enforcement protocols. The case has since been sealed by the court, blocking public access to records that might explain how a 9-year-old became the subject of such legal action.
The Sealed Case That Sparked Investigation
When Guerrilla News journalists attempted to obtain copies of the protective order file through routine public records requests, they discovered the case had been completely sealed from public view. Court clerks refused to provide even the judicial order explaining why the file was sealed, claiming the entire record was off-limits without a separate judge's order.
The case, numbered PO-2468, appears to have been scrubbed from the state's online court database. While protective orders from the same numbering sequence show up in other Oklahoma counties, Pottawatomie County's entry has vanished entirely.
Constitutional Rights Clash at the Courthouse
The journalists' attempts to investigate the case triggered an escalating series of confrontations with courthouse staff and law enforcement. Security personnel initially claimed a blanket prohibition on recording in the public building, despite clear First Amendment protections for filming in government facilities.
Deputy Bionas and Lieutenant Casey repeatedly interrupted the journalists' interviews with court clerks, eventually issuing threats of arrest. When asked whether she had a list of her own employees, one court clerk became increasingly agitated and refused to answer basic questions about public records.
The Woman Who Appeared in Previous Videos
The investigation took an unexpected turn when Candy Griffin, a courthouse security officer, was recognized from a previous accountability journalism video. In that earlier footage from the same courthouse, Griffin had followed journalists throughout the building, making similar claims about recording restrictions that were later proven unfounded.
Griffin's reappearance in this investigation suggests a pattern of constitutional violations at the Pottawatomie County courthouse that extends beyond this single incident.
Sheriff's Department Under Scrutiny
The most disturbing aspect of the case involves the sheriff's department's decision to serve legal papers on a child during school hours. Oklahoma law generally prohibits serving legal documents on anyone under 13 years of age, raising questions about the department's knowledge of basic legal procedures.
When confronted about the service of process, deputies acknowledged they had not yet discussed policy reforms regarding serving minors at their schools. The practice of removing children from classrooms to serve them with court papers has sparked concern among parents and legal advocates.
Emergency Response Interrupted by Constitutional Crisis
The confrontation reached its peak when Lieutenant Casey issued a direct threat of arrest, telling the journalists they would "go to jail" if they didn't immediately leave the public courthouse. The threat came as the journalists were preparing to exit the building voluntarily.
Minutes later, deputies were called away to respond to a head-on car collision, highlighting how constitutional violations can divert law enforcement resources from genuine emergencies.
The footage reveals what happened when those emergency responders arrived at the courthouse doors, and whether the threats escalated into actual arrests.
Watch the full investigation to see how this constitutional crisis unfolded and what it reveals about accountability in Pottawatomie County.
