Oklahoma state rep Ty Burns pleads guilty to domestic abuse and assault after trying to 'gouge' wife's eye out

Oklahoma state Rep. Ty Burns, a Republican, pleaded guilty to domestic abuse and two misdemeanor assault charges on Thursday, related to two separate incidents involving his wife and daughter. The first incident took place during Thanksgiving 2024, when Burns became angry after his wife made plans to go out with friends. He followed her into the bathroom, where he attempted to gouge her eye with his finger, causing a blood vessel to rupture in her eye. As a result, his wife couldn’t work the following week, and a family friend confirmed seeing the injury.

In a second incident in April 2025, Burns got into a confrontation with his wife and one of her friends. During the argument, he tried to run the friend’s vehicle off the road, hitting it with his hands while making violent threats. The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) later reviewed video footage showing Burns chasing his wife and daughter in his truck, with his daughter saying, “He is literally following us in the truck, he is chasing us, he is literally about to kill us.” Burns then struck the van with his truck, blocking the road until his daughter agreed to get into his vehicle. Text messages from his daughter, quoted in the affidavit, criticized Burns’ behavior, describing it as “f—— crazy” and stating, “Like [we] nearly almost died.”

Despite the serious nature of the charges, Burns was not sentenced to jail time. Instead, he received a one-year suspended sentence and was ordered to complete a mandatory batterer’s intervention program. He also acknowledged that he is undergoing treatment for PTSD and hopes to learn healthier ways to cope with past trauma.

Burns’ case marks the first time in two years that a politician in Oklahoma has been arrested, following the 2023 DUI arrest of Republican Rep. Dean Davis.

Source: RAWSTORY