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What started as a simple request for public records forms in Hubert, Oklahoma quickly devolved into a masterclass on how not to serve the public. When a journalist investigating the state's controversial human waste disposal practices walked into city hall, he had no idea he was about to encounter a perfect storm of government hostility.
The reporter was traveling across Oklahoma documenting how cities handle biosolids, the processed human sewage that gets spread on farmland as fertilizer. With Senate Bill 3 working its way through the legislature to ban this practice, he needed testing records from Hubert's water treatment facility.
The First Roadblock
The trouble began the moment he asked for an open records request form. Instead of simply handing over the paperwork, the first city employee disappeared into the back office, then returned demanding to know his name. When he politely declined to identify himself for a routine form request, the atmosphere turned icy.
Meanwhile, his camera operator was documenting city patrol vehicles in an unsecured area behind the building. This sent the public works director scrambling to close gates that apparently should have been secured all along.
Karen Number Two Enters the Scene
If the first employee was difficult, the second was openly hostile. She stormed out, flung a form across the counter, and smugly announced it was "available on Oklahoma.gov." There was just one problem: the form she provided was specifically for requesting records from the Oklahoma Attorney General's office, not the city of Hubert.
When the journalist pointed out that different cities use different forms, the office manager Kim doubled down on her attitude. Asked to retrieve the city's payroll records, she flat-out refused, claiming it would take too long despite acknowledging the documents were readily available in the building.
The City Manager's Surprising Identity
The plot thickened when the journalist discovered the public works director he'd been speaking with outside was actually Justin, the city manager. This revelation transformed what should have been a routine records request into something much more significant.
The city manager had been perfectly cordial discussing the technical aspects of waste treatment. But when confronted about his employees' behavior, he became defensive and evasive about basic accountability.
A Lecture in Public Service
What followed was an impromptu civics lesson delivered with increasing frustration. The journalist explained how the Oklahoma Open Records Act actually works, why employees shouldn't demand identification for routine requests, and how their attitude reflects poorly on city leadership.
When asked to identify himself, the city manager initially refused, then suggested the journalist should "look it up on the internet." The irony wasn't lost on anyone: a public official telling a citizen to Google his identity rather than simply providing his name.
The Unresolved Confrontation
The tension escalated when the city manager tried to police the journalist's language, apparently unaware that profanity is protected First Amendment activity. The conversation devolved into a debate about public service, taxpayer funding, and whether basic courtesy should be expected from government employees.
But the most telling moment came at the very end, when the city manager's entire demeanor changed upon learning exactly who he'd been dealing with. His final words suggest he knew this encounter wasn't over.
Watch the full confrontation unfold and see how this routine records request exposed everything wrong with government accountability in small-town Oklahoma.
