Man charged with vandalizing weather radar at Oklahoma TV station

The weather radar system at KWTV-DT in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was intentionally disabled in an act of vandalism on July 6, 2025, damaging a key piece of equipment used to track severe storms and communicate emergency alerts.

Surveillance footage shows the suspect climbing a fence to the secured radar site, the station reported. Within minutes, he allegedly disabled a key power disconnect, smashed the power meter and broke into the generator’s transfer switch control panel before destroying it.

The suspect, Anthony Tyler Mitchell, 39, has been charged with two felonies in connection with the crime — malicious destruction of property and damage to critical infrastructure — and a misdemeanor for entering with intent to commit a felony.

In a July 19 press release, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced the charges and said the act “imperiled public safety.”

“Radar technology is vitally important and saves the lives of countless Oklahomans every year,” Drummond said.

An anti-government militia group, Veterans On Patrol, claimed responsibility for the crime in an interview with the station, but authorities have not confirmed any connection between Mitchell and the group. Its founder, Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, has publicly encouraged attacks on radar systems, which he falsely claims are used by the military to control the weather.

David Payne, KWTV-DT’s chief meteorologist, said in a news broadcast that the station operates one of the most powerful live radars in Oklahoma.

“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’s exactly why we have our live radar,” Payne said.

Mitchell is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 17.