Cockfighting is prohibited under federal law and in all 50 states. In Oklahoma, it is a felony. But the Atoka County Sheriff's department, when told about an ongoing cockfighting event, didn't seem particularly interested in doing anything about it. And when it became clear to officers that the animal rights activists talking to them were recording footage of the event, the event was mysteriously evacuated. "The police warned the cockfighters," claims Steve Hindi, who also reports that the cockfight operators suddenly knew to go looking for a drone operator on nearby public land.
I wondered at the point of telling authorities about the event when the authorities are so obviously adjacent to it, but then I realized that the point is to lure the authorities into exposing their involvement. QED!
