Oklahoma school boss Ryan Walters began his speech at a state university Wednesday night by calling on people to “never back down from a woke mob.”
But less than 15 minutes later, Walters appeared to have done just that as audience members screamed at his comments.
The Republican fire chief—who has likened the state teachers union to a “terrorist organization,” supports taxpayer-funded religious schools, and appoints a far-right party. Creator of “Libs of TikTok” to the state library media advisory committee—waved goodbye before Oklahoma State University event organizers escorted him away.
“Who do you work for?” one person shouted.
Another agitator claimed that Walters was a “power-hungry fascist” before exclaiming, “The blood of Nex Benedict is on your hands!”
The protester was referring to a 16-year-old non-binary student who died after being beaten by classmates in Owasso. Advocates say Nex had been bullied and harassed for a year before this heartbreaking episode and that Walters' anti-equality rhetoric created a hostile environment for LGBTQ kids like Nex.
As The Daily Beast reported, Walters post transgender feelings about X that same afternoon said the government Nex died by suicide.
People attend a candlelight vigil for 16-year-old non-binary student Nex Benedict in February in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
J Pat Carter
NBC affiliate Oklahoma News 4 captured Wednesday's protests, as did a conservative activist, who was live The event was organized by the university's Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter.
The national conservative group did not respond to messages, but Walters used his X platform to rail against the agitators, claiming that “radical LGBTQ-plus groups” were working to silence him and prevented conservatives from attending his speech.
“You heard them screaming, yelling, cursing profanities, threatening me throughout the speech,” Walters said, adding that this was just one stop on a tour of the university campus.
“These leftists want to keep telling you on college campuses that America is an evil country,” Walters continued. “It's not a country to be proud of. They want to tell you that there is no God. They want to tell you that there are 27 genders.”
But Bella Farrow, the lead organizer of protests outside the building and in lecture halls, told The Daily Beast that her group is a nonpartisan student-run effort.
A senior at OSU, Farrow pointed out that Walters was previously scheduled to speak on campus with TPUSA a few weeks ago but canceled a day or two in advance. Back then, Farrow and others strongly encouraged a protest against him.
“It comes on the heels of a lot of news about Nex Benedict's death,” Farrow said. “We believe his rhetoric has contributed to negative attitudes about LGBTQ people. … So it felt disrespectful, at least tone-deaf, to take him away right after that.”
Students also protested his failure to retain staff—more than 130 education department employees resigned, include his legal staff and his conservative Christian supporters—and his use public funds to pay for his out-of-state media appearances. They highlight a recent poll from Change Research that disclosure 55 percent of Oklahomans disapprove of the job he is doing.
“It's not just his views on LGBT issues but his failure as an elected official to carry out his duties,” Farrow said. “He is the State Superintendent of Education, but he seems to prioritize his ideology over actually serving the people of Oklahoma.”
Indeed, Walters raised his national profile as a culture warrior, traveling across the country to speak at conservative conferences and conventions. meeting with Fox News booking agent.
On Wednesday morning, a TUPSA university representative sent an email to students who responded to the location advertised as a “town hall.” But the message noted that “Ryan will give a 20 to 30 minute speech with questions at the end if time allows.”
“So it wasn't a town hall and it was pretty undemocratic when it was presented that way,” Farrow told The Daily Beast, adding that TPUSA instead asked some people to place Prepared questions.
“We were carefully prepared for a dialogue, but he was not willing to listen to us,” she said.
That changed protesters' original plans, which included asking researched questions about Ryan's policies. They had no intention of staging any disruption until they learned the “town hall” was actually just a right-wing speech.
“We have questions about how he operates as state superintendent, because it's all of our taxpayer dollars,” she said.
According to News 4, more than 100 people came to the auditorium to meet Walters, who does not often participate in Q&A with the public.
Pacing the room, Walters told supporters of the TPUSA activists, “You conservatives make them so scared that they are so afraid of hearing from you that they will yell at you. They will scream hysterically.”
“Conservatives, this is what winning looks like,” added Walters, 38, a former high school history teacher who has always aligned with the far right, including extremist groups. Mothers for freedom since taking office in 2023.
Despite the noise, Walters took the opportunity to deliver an us-versus-them speech.
“The mob is woke, they don't care about the state, they don't care about our children, they don't care about the future of the country. They just want power and anarchy.”
Soon, many spectators began chanting “Where is your budget? Where are your employees?”
“I fired the officials and cut the budget!” Walters said with a thumbs up.
Things calmed down after a few questions about softball. One person asked about Walters' plans for the future of Oklahoma education. He responded that 117 public schools had been removed from the “F” list, referring to state report cards, and amid the jeers, he said he was defending “women's rights.” parents” and “school choice”.
A student sitting in the front row asked him for advice about getting involved in politics. “Stay true to what you believe in,” Walters said, adding that “Oklahomans are not radical leftists” but instead “some of the best people in the country.”
“Some Oklahomans want you gone!” someone interjected.
When another student asked how to ensure the country's future prosperity, Walters said, “We need President Trump in the White House” and other conservative politicians in Congress.
Farrow said her team later spoke with an organizer who was not a TPUSA student and asked why they changed the event format. She claims the representative shared that they did not want Walters to field any questions from protesters.
“He showed up 15 minutes late, talked for 15 minutes, answered about three to five questions from just the people at Turning Point and then left 20 minutes early,” Farrow said. “It seems like it's more of a PR stunt than actually representing the people he's supposed to represent.”
Walters’ statement about being shut down by “woke” crybabies who don’t want to hear conservative viewpoints “completely obscures the fact that the event was changed at the last minute because of them.” don't want to hear from us,” Farrow told The Sun. Daily Beast, added that the organizers of her protest included conservatives.
In Farrow's view, Walters's goal was “to become a right-wing puppet rather than an effective state superintendent.”
Last week, one of Walters' senior executives spoke out about why she resigned from his administration in October, tell the news 4 she worries about the future of the state's education system.
Walters hired Pamela Smith-Gordon, a former teacher and district superintendent, as state grant compliance and development program manager.
Smith-Gordon said she was never able to reach Walters, so she tried going to his office — only to find an armed guard blocking the way.
“The hall leading to his office is behind locked doors and has armed guards. You were not allowed to walk down his hallway, much less into his office,” Smith-Gordon said. “Now, there are a select few who feel blessed by his presence. But department heads don't.”
She said the inability to question Walters and access some of the department's software has cost the state “several million” dollars in federal funding for school mental health and safety programs.
“These students are not being served,” she told News 4, adding that someone “has [Walters’] tai” told her not to contact him anymore and that he was too busy.
“I knew that he was on TV a lot, many times when I needed to reach him — he was traveling,” Smith-Gordon said. “It's not a good situation. I don't know anyone who can actually get paid for a job but never show up for it.”
