‘Rage and cursing’: Kelly Lynn arrested for direct contempt at Oklahoma County Courthouse

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Nearly three years after he avoided charges for grabbing and shoving a grandmother during a bar room political discussion, Wewoka Municipal Judge Kelly Lynn was arrested and held in direct contempt today for “aggressive and disruptive conduct” at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

Lynn, a former member of the Norman City Council who lost a State Senate bid earlier this year, was sentenced to five days in the Oklahoma County Jail by District Court Judge Sheila Stinson after a one-hour hearing today. The hearing came less than two hours after Lynn’s behavior toward a public defender during a family court docket caused Judge James Siderias to have him arrested on a contempt allegation.

“It’s not something that happens often. Judges are very reticent ever to find attorneys guilty of contempt, so this is a very, very, very rare occasion,” said Oklahoma County Presiding Judge Richard Ogden, who was briefed on the morning’s events. “I’ve been a judge for 10 years, and I’m presiding judge now, but I can’t recall another occasion similar to this. It doesn’t happen often.”

Ogden said the allegations against Lynn included “yelling, rage and cursing.”

Aaron Brilbeck, the public information officer for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that Lynn was carrying a firearm when he was arrested in court.

“We took him into custody,” Brilbeck said. “We did find a weapon on him.”

While Lynn’s possession of a gun in court concerned onlookers, his status as a municipal judge serving the towns of Wewoka and Dibble appears to authorize him to carry firearms on state property, even if he is not appearing as a judge at the time, Ogden said.

“Oklahoma statute allows municipal judges — although they may also be practicing attorneys — to carry on state property. That would include courthouses,” Ogden said. “That is a provision of the statute that I think surprised all of us. He did lawfully have a weapon on him, which he did surrender to the sheriff’s office once he was taken into custody in Judge Siderias’ courtroom.”

Stinson ordered Lynn to be brought back to her courtroom from jail for a follow-up hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Lynn lost 2023 election after bar fight with retired teacher

Known for brash behavior and Facebook clashes with constituents during his tenure on the Norman City Council, Lynn lost a 2023 reelection bid for a second term after a group of women held a press conference condemning his behavior toward them.

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Among the accusations of bullying stood the story of Sally Little, a retired educator and grandmother whom Lynn approached to discuss local politics while she was watching Monday Night Football at the Louie’s Bar & Grill in Norman’s Brookhaven area. As the conversation escalated, Little said she prepared to leave and attempted to shake Lynn’s hand. She said Lynn “raised his hand in a threatening manner and leaned forward toward her.” At that point, Little said she grabbed her mostly empty glass and used it to toss a lime at Lynn.

“I tossed that lime at him trying to slow him down because I felt like he was coming toward me. It was just the closest thing. I didn’t throw the glass at him,” Little told NonDoc. “Then I turned to grab my purse, and that’s when he got me and dragged me back [toward the door].”

Little’s friend, Jeannie Taylor, witnessed the encounter and said Lynn grabbed Little’s ponytail.

“He shoved her around like a limp rag doll being ravaged by a German shepherd. Sally is all of 5’2” and weighs 107 pounds dripping wet, in addition to being 66 years old,” Taylor said. “He was screaming at her to get the fuck out of the restaurant, that she was a fucking psycho bitch and a motherfucker — all the while pushing and shoving her toward the door. I was yelling at him to let go of her and she was screaming for help, saying she wasn’t kidding that she needed help.”

Lynn was not charged by Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn, but 53.2 percent of voters chose Bree Montoya over Lynn during Norman’s February 2023 municipal election.

‘He became belligerent’

Ryan Sullivan, the first assistant public defender in Oklahoma County, attended Lynn’s contempt hearing in front of Stinson at 11 a.m. Thursday. Although he did not witness Lynn’s actions in front of Siderias, Sullivan discussed the testimony given by Siderias and four attorneys, including public defender Katie Carter, who had drawn Lynn’s ire in court.

“He was upset about something, I guess, and she didn’t like the way he was talking to her in court. He, by his own admission, was cursing at her,” Sullivan said. “She basically requested just to approach the judge. The judge testified to this as well. She went forward, and the judge pretty much told him, ‘Don’t talk to lawyers like that.’”

Sullivan said that admonishment of Lynn “set him off.”

“He became belligerent. He was warned that he was going to be held in contempt, then he was held in contempt because he didn’t stop,” Sullivan said of the testimony. “He made some sort of statement to the effect of, ‘I’ve got something for you, too,’ to the judge. The judge clearly did not feel safe, by his own testimony, and deputies escorted him upstairs. He had a loaded firearm. He claims he has right to have it in the courthouse.”

Ogden said Lynn represented himself and cross-examined witnesses during the hearing in front of Stinson. Sullivan said Lynn requested representation from outside counsel, which was denied. Sullivan said it was his understanding that a charge of “direct contempt” does not entitle an attorney to outside counsel for the hearing.

“This shouldn’t be done to anybody, much less a public servant who is just trying to make sure everybody has representation,” Sullivan said.

Lynn, whose Twitter handle is @LoudmouthKelly, is a U.S. Army veteran. According to Siderias’ docket, Lynn was in court representing Mac Lee Brink — né Dusty Lee Shipley — in a child custody case.

Lynn finished third in the June Republican primary for Senate District 15 in the Norman area, receiving 16.7 percent of the vote in a six-person race.

During an October interview posted on Lynn’s Twitter account, he criticized politicians who cannot “handle” their power.

“Somebody gets into that position, and they get a little drunk on power, prestige, whatever, and they don’t know how to handle that,” Lynn said. “That is one of the things that drives me insane in life, is people that have a position of power that have no idea how to handle it.”

On review, judge drops Lynn sentence from 5 days to 4

When three deputy sheriffs led him from the Oklahoma County Jail and back into Stinson’s courtroom Friday afternoon, a shackled Lynn asked Stinson to reset the scoreboard and commute his sentence to the single night he had already served in jail.

Saying he “got the point,” Lynn requested the chance to attend his daughter’s birthday party in Arkansas this weekend.

“It’s the one time from this week all the way through Thanksgiving that I’m going to have all my kids, all my family, together in one spot in Arkansas — something that we have been planning all year long,” Lynn said during the hearing. “I understand — I’ll tell you I feel — I promise you, I got the point, and I understand at this point. It hasn’t been a very fun night, and it hasn’t been fun for my family to have to watch me on the news, not be able to talk to me. I get the damage that has been done here.”

Stinson, however, only agreed to knock one day off of Lynn’s original five-day sentence.

“Part of the reasoning for my five days and not a 10-day sentence was I knew a 10-day sentence would include Thanksgiving, and so I was of the opinion that a five-day sentence would be a sufficient sentence,” Stinson said.

Lynn is set to be released from the Oklahoma County Jail at 12 p.m. Monday.

(Update: This story was updated at 9:20 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, to include Kelly Lynn’s booking photo. It was updated again at 3 p.m. to include a final section detailing Friday’s resentencing hearing.)

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