Ryan Walters, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, recently posted a video announcing that he is using information gathered from Libs of TikTok—the notoriously transphobic and anti-LGBTQ social media account founded and run by right-wing "journalist" and activist Chaya Raichik—to as Ron Filipkowski puts it, "hunt down school employees who joked about Trump's ear getting nicked so that they can be fired."
Walters explains that Raichik has "been a powerful ally in making sure radical activists are not indoctrinating our kids. No teacher will be allowed to advocate for the assasination [sic] of Donald Trump for any reason. Actions have consequences."
Walters seems to love Raichik—at the beginning of 2024, he appointed Raichik to an Oklahoma state library advisory committee (nevermind that she doesn't live in the state), explaining that she is "on the front lines showing the world exactly what the radical left is all about—lowering standards, porn in schools, and pushing woke indoctrination on our kids."
Ryan Walters is notorious for his right-wing ideologies—at the end of June, he mandated that "every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a bible in the classroom, and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom." Walters also has strong ties to the Heritage Foundation, the folks behind the terrifyingly right-wing "Project 2025"—which Advocate describes as the "controversial plan to radically transform the federal government if former President Donald Trump is reelected."
Earlier this year, Walters was interviewed by Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts on his podcast, The Kevin Roberts Show, in an episode entitled, "Oklahoma's Battle Against Woke Elites." Roberts praises Walters and his work:
The entrenched woke elites within our education system aim to dismantle the innocence of our children, erode parental rights, and undermine community authority over schools. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters has boldly confronted them—and he's winning.
During the episode, Walters tells Roberts that the Heritage Foundation "has been an incredible partner to help us develop what the plans are for the state for our schools."
If you want to know what Project 2025 has in store for public schools, it seems you don't have to look any farther than Ryan Walters and what he's currently doing in Oklahoma.
To learn more about Ryan Walters and his ties to the Heritage Foundation, Jenny Cohn, a journalist who writes about Christian Nationalism, has compiled this super illuminating deep dive of resources.
Previously:
• Who put the H in Jesus H. Christ?
• Recaptioning New Yorker cartoons with 'Christ, what an asshole!'
