After a weather radar in Oklahoma City was vandalized and taken offline earlier this month, Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond is now prosecuting a suspect.
Anthony Tyler Mitchell, 39, is being charged with malicious injury or destruction of property, and damage to equipment in a critical infrastructure facility for vandalizing KWTV News 9’s weather radar earlier this month.
In addition to the two felony charges, Mitchell is being charged with entering with the intent to commit a felony, which is a misdemeanor.
An anti-government militia known as Veterans on Patrol has taken responsibility for the damage. Its leader, Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, has stated in interviews and on social media posts he believes the military can control the weather and that weather radars are weapons.
“This crime is about much more than vandalism of property,” Drummond said in a media release. “Weather radar is not a 'weather weapon.' Radar technology is vitally important and saves the lives of countless Oklahomans every year. This individual’s alleged action is not simply wrong; it imperiled public safety. My office is committed to protecting critical infrastructure and holding accountable anyone who willfully damages it."
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