Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission essentially had its wings clipped in a settlement reached with the state’s Ethics Commission over allegations of campaign finance violations.
According to the settlement, which was formally executed on Wednesday, the Gamefowl Commission was ordered to dissolve as a political activist organization for at least two years and to pay a $10,000 penalty.
In a media release, the Ethics Commission said it approved the settlement with the Gamefowl Commission Political Action Committee and its treasurer, Blake Pearce, after a finding of “extensive violations” of campaign finance laws. It said the PAC admitted to serious and repeated violations, including taking contributions above the maximum allowed by law and accepting anonymous donations “far in excess” of the legal limit.
Additionally the Gamefowl Commission, an organization that was initiated to advocate for more lenient state laws addressing cockfighting, admitted to failing to collect and report required contributor information, accepting prohibited corporate contributions, concealing money by failing to fully report contributions and expenditures, spending funds outside the PAC’s stated purpose, using cash withdrawals to make political expenditures, and failing to maintain accurate records as required by law.
“These violations were not mere oversights — they were blatant breaches of the law that undermine public trust in the fairness of Oklahoma’s elections,” Ethics Commission Executive Director Lee Ann Bruce Boone said in a statement.
The Gamefowl Commission was ordered to pay $10,000 in penalties to the state, with payments beginning Oct. 1 and continuing monthly through September 2027. It will dissolve as a PAC within 30 days, close out all funds in compliance with state rules and file a final report in the Ethics Commission’s Guardian System.
According to the agreement, the Gamefowl Commission is also to refrain from forming any new affiliated PAC for at least two years.
The organization, which lists a base address in Caddo, Oklahoma, didn’t immediately respond to a message sent via social media seeking comment.
Bruce Boone said the violations of finance rules merited “real and lasting repercussions” including both financial and structural consequences.
“The public can be assured that the (Ethics) Commission takes seriously its duty to hold political committees accountable and that campaign finance rules are enforced consistently and fairly,” she said.
The Ethics Commission voted in July to publicly acknowledge the investigation. In a notice, it cited allegations that the Gamefowl Commission’s PAC violated provisions of the state’s Campaign Finance Ethics Rule 2.
Prior to that, the Gamefowl Commission had been the subject of controversy after the Animal Wellness Action organization released videos that purported to show two of its members attending an illegal cockfight. The two were identified as Pearce and the organization’s president, Anthony Devore. The animal welfare organization said footage taken June 7 and May 31 showed Devore and Pearce among dozens of spectators at a cockfighting gathering in McIntosh County.
According to Animal Wellness Action, in recent years Devore and Pearce had raised at least $100,000 from other cockfighters and donated tens of thousands of dollars to politicians, mainly to state lawmakers in Oklahoma.
Oklahomans passed State Question 687 in 2002, making it a felony to actively participate in cockfighting and a misdemeanor to attend a cockfighting event. The federal Animal Welfare Act of 1966 regulates the exhibition and transportation of birds used in cockfighting.
steve.metzer@tulsaworld.com
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Steve Metzer
Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer
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