Early this week, security video footage shows an individual damaging News 9's NextGen Live Weather Radar, temporarily knocking it offline.
The Oklahoma City televison station reports Veterans on Patrol, which the Southern Poverty Law Center defines as an anti-government militia, is claiming responsibility and targeting other Oklahoma radars. Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, the founder of Veterans On Patrol, told the station he posted a sign warning of other radars being targeted near weather radar. He said he believes the government is modifying the weather, according to the article.
"They can embed their technology and civilian infrastructure in every home and every household utilizing the phones and their network towers to not only control the weather, modify the weather, but they can (target) individuals," Meyer said in the article.
But David Payne, News 9 Chief Meteorologist, said that's not what weather radars do and without it, they cannot track weather events like tornadoes.
"I wish it were that easy," Payne said in the article. "I wish that we could turn it on and say 'Oh let's make that tornado go away,' but our weather radar and all of the weather radars in the U.S. are built strictly to inform and warn the public, and keep the public safe and that is exactly why we have our live radar."
News 9 reports the individual suspected of damaging the radar is under arrest in an unrelated case.
Radars monitor the weather across the state and nation. Doppler radars date back to the 1940s and technology advances have made it one of the most effective tools to warn the public of hazardous weather, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Erica Grow Cei, a NOAA public affairs specialist and meteorologist, said in an email that the agency is aware of the threats against Next Generation Weather Radar sites and is working with authorities to monitor the situation.
Houston Hunt, vice president of marketing for Griffin Media, which is the parent company of News 9, said in an email the company works to ensure there are no service interruptions as people depend on the radar's information.
Hunt said the tool is important and can be seen when it comes to weather in the state, and it was unfortunate for the local radar to be temporarily knocked offline for several hours.
"Our weather teams and thousands of Oklahomans rely on the information gathered from this radar and others to keep themselves and their families safe during severe weather as well as planning their days and any interruption of service is incredibly unfortunate," Hunt said.
StateImpact's Chloe Bennett-Steele contributed to this report.
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