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Newly released police bodycam video obtained by Fox News Digital shows Oklahoma Secretary of State Benjamin Lepak’s encounter with police outside a McDonald’s before officers arrested him on suspicion of public intoxication.
Lepak was arrested Friday night in Edmond after police responded around 10:45 p.m. to a report of a man who appeared to be drunk in public, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
Officers found Lepak standing near the restaurant’s drive-thru window and saw his vehicle in the parking lot, according to the affidavit. Lepak reportedly confirmed the vehicle belonged to him.
According to the arrest affidavit, an officer said Lepak had “extremely slurred speech” and an “odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath.” The officer also said Lepak struggled to remove his identification from his wallet.
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Body camera video obtained by Fox News Digital shows officers questioning Lepak about where he had been, how much alcohol he had consumed and how he arrived at the McDonald’s.
Lepak told officers he had attended a gathering with other fathers at a church earlier in the evening, according to the video.
As officers continued questioning him, Lepak disputed that he was unsteady on his feet.
Police allege Lepak was unable to maintain a “coherent train of thought” during the encounter, according to the affidavit. Lepak acknowledged to drinking beer while speaking with officers.
“I had a beer … that’s it,” Lepak said, according to the affidavit. He later said he had consumed less than one beer because he did not finish it.
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Police allege Lepak also gave contradictory statements about whether he drove to the McDonald’s and how he arrived there, according to the affidavit.
Officers ultimately placed Lepak under arrest on suspicion of public intoxication.
A spokesperson for Lepak told Fox News Digital he was waiting outside the restaurant for his dinner and noted that police did not administer a breathalyzer test.
“Mr. Lepak was waiting outside McDonald’s for dinner. He was not given a Breathalyzer test,” the spokesperson said. “Mr. Lepak will address the ticket appropriately through the legal process.”
The arrest prompted Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond to call on Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt to fire Lepak.
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“After reviewing footage from law enforcement body cameras, it is clear that Secretary of State Ben Lepak was thoroughly inebriated and very likely lied to law enforcement about how much he had to drink and how he and his car both arrived at the same place without him driving it,” Drummond said in a news release.
“This conduct is thoroughly unbecoming of a such a high-ranking state official, and I am demanding that Gov. Stitt fire him immediately.”
Drummond also criticized Stitt for appointing Lepak.
“Given the fact that Mr. Lepak had been arrested just a few years ago after being found unconscious in a running vehicle, Gov. Stitt should have known better than to elevate him to such a senior leadership position,” he added.
“Gov. Stitt has made countless errors in judgment like this during his tenure in office, including most recently when he intervened to help a campaign donor avoid further jail time.
“He cannot undo those past mistakes, but he can help our state avoid further embarrassment by firing Mr. Lepak immediately.”
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Stitt appointed Lepak to serve as Oklahoma secretary of state in October 2025.
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Lepak previously served as the governor’s general counsel and as executive director of the State Chamber Research Foundation.
Read the full article here
