OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma lawmaker who found a tracking device attached to his pickup last month is suing a private investigation company and an investigator who works for the company over the device.
Discovery of the tracking device has shocked Oklahoma politicians, who have questioned who was spying.
Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican from the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, is suing Eastridge Investigations and Asset Protection and Eastridge investigator H.L. Christensen, according to an attorney for Eastridge.
The lawsuit, first reported by The Oklahoman, is an amended version of a lawsuit McBride filed in December naming “John Doe” and alleging trespassing, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
McBride did not immediately return a phone call Saturday for comment about how the private investigation company and Christensen were identified, but sent a text saying he “will try to call later.”
On Jan. 3, a judge approved a request to issue a subpoena to the company that manufactured or serviced the device in an effort to determine who purchased it.
Danny Shadid, an attorney for both Eastridge Investigations and Christensen, confirmed the lawsuit but declined Saturday to discuss the allegations.
“I just don’t like to comment on matters pending before the court,” Shadid said.
A telephone message left at Eastridge Investigations was not immediately returned.
McBride reported finding the tracking device underneath his truck on Dec. 4 and has said he suspects wind industry officials are tracking him because of his efforts to raise taxes on wind farm operators.
Oklahoma Wind Coalition Executive Mark Yates has denied that wind industry representatives are spying on McBride.