New calls for state investigations come after Anthony Devore and Blake Pearce were exposed for violating state and federal laws against cockfighting
OKLAHOMA CITY — Animal Wellness Action is renewing its 2023 call for the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to launch a formal investigation into the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission’s disregard for Oklahoma campaign finance laws, with the call for attention to campaign finance violations coming in the wake of cockfighting revelations implicating the group’s two leaders.
Animal Wellness Action first raised concerns about a series of obvious campaign finance violations by the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission (OGC) PAC. With the leaders of that group also demonstrating contempt for the state’s anti-cruelty laws, it has renewed requests for a full-blown investigation into the campaign finance matters and for the leveling of proportional penalties.
The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission PAC has accepted illegal donations from nonprofit corporations and out-of-state entities, exceeded Oklahoma’s contribution limits, and repeatedly failed to report required donor information in its quarterly filings. These violations are not isolated — they represent a sustained, deliberate pattern of noncompliance with Oklahoma Ethics Rules.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, most of the funds donated to Oklahoma lawmakers by the OGC PAC appear to be derived from fighting rooster auctions — auctions that feature fighting birds illegally bred and sold for cockfighting, which is a felony offense under Oklahoma law.
Last week, undercover Animal Wellness Action investigations revealed that Anthony Devore, president of both the OGC and the United States Gamefowl Commission, was an “entrant” in a cockfighting derby in McIntosh County and he and his wife pitted birds fitted with knives on their legs in violation of multiple Oklahoma and federal laws. Blake Pearce, vice president of both entities, was caught in the first row of seats abutting the fighting pit, violating state and federal laws.
“The presence of the two leaders of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission at a cockfighting derby underscores what we’ve known since Anthony Devore and Blake Pearce appeared on the public stage three years ago: these men are violating state and federal anti-cruelty laws, and they have knowingly violated campaign finance laws overseen by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission,” said Wayne Pacelle, president Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “They should not get away with any of these crimes.”
Pacelle added that “the leaders of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission have been engaged in a long-running conspiracy to violate the laws of Oklahoma, including corrupt political practices designed to buy off state and federal lawmakers with ill-gotten gains from illegal cockfighting activities.”
“These are not technical oversights. This is criminal behavior — both in the arena of campaign finance and in the cockfighting pit,” said Kevin Chambers, Oklahoma state director of Animal Wellness Action. “The Oklahoma Ethics Commission must act swiftly and decisively to investigate and penalize serial abuses of the state’s political and legal systems.”
Alarmingly, after his cockfighting activities were exposed, OGC president Anthony Devore used social media to hint at violence against investigators, further demonstrating the Commission’s contempt for law enforcement and civil society.
Pacelle and Chambers are urging the Ethics Commission to conduct a full audit of OGC PAC’s finances, refer criminal elements to the appropriate prosecuting authorities, and ensure that “political influence in Oklahoma is not purchased with money from criminal activities then funneled into political campaigns.”