“It’s freaking hemp, man,” Shoemake said Friday. “It’s not like they had a load of heroin or were loaded up with stolen car parts. And they’re going to ruin these guys’ lives over that?”

The Osage County District Attorney’s Office didn’t provide comment.

Shoemake said District Attorney Mike Fisher is a “fine man” and as honest a prosecutor as there is in the profession. But Shoemake said he doesn’t understand or even know why the case is being handled in this fashion.

Deneke and Warsame, along with hemp security providers Andrew Ross and David Dirksen, are charged with marijuana trafficking. A conviction carries with it a sentence of 15 years to life.

Ross and Dirksen are free after each posted $20,000 bonds Jan. 15.

For Deneke and Warsame, their attorney has been unable to find an agency willing to post either of their $40,000 bonds. He said anyone willing to do so may call his Pawhuska office at 918-287-1812.

“The security drivers made bond, and these guys are just sitting in jail,” Shoemake said, noting that the two who were able to gain release are white business owners. “I think it’s a miscarriage of justice.”