A group of concerned citizens from Washington, Osage, and northern Tulsa County have signed on to a petition to the area's elected officials regarding the insurrection at the United States Capitol building that occurred this past week on Wednesday, Jan. 6th, 2021.

Ms. Emilie Tindle said it is her personal opinion as a private citizen that what happened at the Capitol was an insurrection that attempted to disrupt an important federal legislative process to certify the results of a free and fair election. Tindle said they're concerned that the events that took place have not received enough attention from state leaders, and federal leaders like Representative Kevin Hern and Senator James Lankford. She said there is not enough of a diversity of opinion being heard about the situation.

Ms. Tindle said the petition is specifically designed so that they can talk about restitution and a place to go from here. Tindle said there are many significant problems on the local, state and federal level that make it a multi-faceted situation. She said they hope the petition will create a conversation so that they can find a solution to the problems on every level.

According to Ms. Tindle, this includes the resignation of Rep. Hern and Sen. Lankford. Tindle said a lot of people are calling for their resignation because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. She said the amendment deals with seditious acts. There is also hope from Ms. Tindle and the group of petitioners to have discussion about conspiracy theories and what they're doing to our communities.

These are conversations that Ms. Tindle believes we've needed to have in our communities, in Oklahoma, and in the nation for years, if not generations. Tindle said there have been underlying issues and more recent issues that led to Wednesday's insurrection at the Capitol. She said they lay out concrete objectives in the petition that will help get the conversation started.

A PDF version of the petition can be found here.

Ms. Tindle said they require in the petition that our elected officials acknowledge that conspiracy theories have contributed to the problems in our communities and in our nation. Tindle said they want the QAnon conspiracy theory repudiated because it's extremely problematic and prevalent. 

If you wish to sign the petition online, click on the Change.org petition link here.

The petition has received an initial 5,898 views and 859 signatures since publication on Thursday, Jan. 7th, 2021 at roughly 12:30 p.m. The petition was amended once for clarity, which is acknowledged on the petition page.

Ms. Tindle said the petition is non-partisan, signed by and open to members of all political parties, and not affiliated with a registered political party in Oklahoma. Tindle said they have no control as to who sign the petition. She said local and non-local Oklahomans will be signing the petition.

That being said, Ms. Tindle said she has been gathering people's names that have gotten ahold of her because they've wanted to be added to a local petition. Tindle said the residents in House District 10, House District 11, Senate District 29, and Congressional District One have reached out to her because they've wanted to join a local petition regarding the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

Ms. Tindle said they love Bartlesville and the United States very much. Tindle said they have a lot of hope just as much as they carry a lot of pain for what happened at the U.S. Capitol Building. She believes they portrayed that hope and that pain in the wording of the petition.

Ms. Tindle ran as a Democrat against State Rep. Wendi Stearman for the House District 11 seat in 2020.

Photo courtesy: Local Petition Page on Change.org