1 hr ago
Oklahoma Prisoners Made Political Calls for Conservative Candidates
Some people in Oklahoma prisons were hired to make phone calls about elections.
The calls supported conservative candidates and were paid for by a political group called Make Liberty Win.
A company called HBW Leads ran the call centers inside four prisons.
The prisoners earned $2 for each hour they worked.
The corrections department received $10 per hour, with the rest covering program costs.
Some prisoners said the calls were clearly campaign messages rather than surveys.
The corrections department said the work was allowed under the contracts and that it reviewed the scripts.
Make Liberty Win said it did not know prisoners were being used and ended the contract after concerns about performance.
Inmates at four Oklahoma prisons worked call-center jobs involving political calls for conservative candidates.
The work was operated by HBW Leads and its political subsidiary, Visible Trends.
Make Liberty Win paid Visible Trends nearly $600,000 since March for political calling services.
Inmates earned $2 per hour while the Oklahoma Department of Corrections received $10 per hour worked.
Inmates described partisan and culture-war scripts, while officials said the calls fit the contract’s definition of political polling.
- Who
- Inmates at four Oklahoma prisons, HBW Leads, Visible Trends, Make Liberty Win, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
- What
- Prison inmates made political calls supporting conservative candidates and political causes.
- Where
- Call centers operated at James Crabtree Correctional Center, Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, Lexington Correctional Center, and Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Oklahoma.
- When
- The activity was reported by Oklahoma Watch on 24 August 2026; payments had been made since March, with the latest payment dated 29 June.
- Why
- The calls were conducted as political outreach and polling services for Make Liberty Win and targeted state legislative races.
Critics and Inmates
Agency and Political Organization
Nature of the calls
Critics and Inmates
Inmates told Oklahoma Watch that the calls were campaign messages rather than surveys and sometimes used demeaning or culture-war language.
Agency and Political Organization
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said calls advocating for candidates fell within the contracts’ definition of political polling.
Use of prison labor
Critics and Inmates
The arrangement drew scrutiny because prisoners performed partisan political work for $2 per hour, and some inmates said they felt uneasy about the content.
Agency and Political Organization
One inmate described the job as attractive because it paid better than other prison work; the department said it regularly reviewed call-center material for compliance.
Make Liberty Win’s involvement
Critics and Inmates
The investigation linked the group’s payments to political calls made by inmates through Visible Trends.
Agency and Political Organization
Make Liberty Win’s executive director said the organization did not know Visible Trends used prison labor and said the contract was terminated because of poor performance.
Key facts
- Prison locations
- Four Oklahoma facilities: James Crabtree, Mabel Bassett, Lexington, and Joseph Harp correctional centers.
- Inmate wage
- Inmates earned $2 per hour, with possible bonuses.
- Department payment
- The company paid the Oklahoma Department of Corrections $10 per hour worked.
- Political client
- Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based super PAC seeking to elect conservative lawmakers.
- Reported payments
- Federal Election Commission records showed nearly $600,000 paid to Visible Trends since March.
- Company arrangement
- HBW Leads operated the prison call centers, while Visible Trends handled political calling.
- Contract language
- Contracts allowed telemarketing and political polling activity.
Quotes
Steve Wilbanks
Former inmate call-centre worker at James Crabtree Correctional Center
““They weren’t surveys at all, they were campaigning. They just had one question at the end of the call: ‘Do we have your vote for such and such?’””
theprint.in
““It’s just better money. It’s the best money on the yard.””
theprint.in
Anonymous inmate
An inmate interviewed by Oklahoma Watch
““They definitely know what they’re doing is a no-no.””
theprint.in
Sources
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