Hundreds gathered at the Oklahoma State University library lawn in Stillwater on Tuesday to attend a memorial in honor of Charlie Kirk hosted by the school's Turning Point USA chapter.
The conservative activist's assassination last week has sparked controversy as online brigades of commenters criticize and support his legacy.
Chris Hill, a management and information systems senior at OSU, said he was there fighting to protect his faith and free speech as someone who supported Kirk's mission, but didn't always agree with what the late activist said.
"I'd hope that there's people here tonight that don't agree with Charlie Kirk," Hill said. "'Cause I don't think being here tonight and memorializing him is about saying, necessarily, 'I 100% agree with everything he said,' I think what it's about saying is that we need to stand up against the persecution of our free speech, we need to stand up against violent threats against opinions."
Meanwhile, some educators in Oklahoma, in grade school and higher-ed, are afraid of voicing their opinions about Kirk, as their colleagues face the risk of reprimand from elected officials for doing the same.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters has vowed to punish any teacher in the state who disrespects Kirk publicly. And he's not alone, as at least one lawmaker has taken to flagging social media posts for Walters' office to inspect. Others, supported by the state's far-right GOP, have taken to monumentalizing the late activist as a martyr to the MAGA cause.
"Let me be clear…any teacher or employee who attempts to glorify this disgusting act of violence will have their teaching license taken from them and will never step foot in an Oklahoma school again," Walters said in a video he posted on X last week.
The video followed various other online posts doxing educators across the state who'd said something critical of Kirk in the public eye since his assassination. On Wednesday afternoon, Walters announced he'd received 224 reports of defamatory comments and the department was looking at 70 certified teachers in 44 districts.
On Sept. 10, Rep. Gabe Woolley, R-Broken Arrow, publicly reshared the identifying information of one teacher at Clyde Boyd Middle School in Sand Springs, after he'd already formally notified the state superintendent's office.
"Charlie Kirk died the same way he lived: bringing out the worst in people," the teacher's post reads.
"My office has contacted Ryan Walters about this," Woolley writes in his own post. "Again, this is disgraceful behavior."
Three days later, an X user flagged another teacher at Inola High School who posted a video saying she'd block anyone mourning Kirk's death, instead of the shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, which happened on the same day.
"If your story has everything to do with the school shooting in Colorado, you're going to get an instant follow from me," the high school teacher said on TikTok. "If, however, it has to do with the sad, sad, sad news of a racist, misogynist...exiting the planet stage left, and how sad you are…it's an instant block."
"We are investigating," Walters replied.
The Inola teacher retired within days, according to their social media. The Sand Springs teacher is under investigation, per an announcement by the school district.
How targeting teachers is reasoned with by Kirk's supporters
For some people memorializing Kirk at OSU, the irony of elected officials targeting and punishing teachers for their online opinions of the activist, in his name and mission of protecting free speech, raises eyebrows, but is ultimately excusable.
Hill said he thinks everyone should have the right to post what they believe about Kirk online, but that he doesn't think it's appropriate for teachers to disparage anyone in front of their students – and that can mean on the internet too.
"In terms of pursuing them and getting them removed from their positions, I think it's just up to whether what they're actually doing is violating whatever code of conduct that their workplace has," he said.
Ed Myers, the State Committeeman for the Garvin County GOP, was also at the event, clad in a Kirk-signed red MAGA hat and a black shirt reading "I am Charlie." He shared a similar but less nuanced perspective on the protection of free speech, albeit more aggressive.
"There's the reason it's the First Amendment," Myers said. "It's important. And there's a reason that the Second Amendment is there, to protect the First Amendment. We are living in a time where we have two diametrically opposed worldviews, and we have to protect that free speech."
If it isn't protected, he said, we may as well pack it up because the American Republic will go away.
"That's why I'm wearing this shirt," Myers said. "I am Charlie, you are Charlie. We are all Charlie. We are all out here exercising our right to say what we believe."
At the same time, though, Myers said punishing teachers for critical public comments about Kirk comes down to what he called ensuring common decency.
"It's justice. It's the only way we have to maintain order in our society," he said. "Whether that be a politician, you know, or a media personality, whatever it is, we can't, as common, decent human beings, we can never celebrate the death of another human being."
Woolley was also at the event. When asked if he saw an irony in his and Walter's targeting of teachers for their critical comments about Kirk, he justified it under the premise of free-market principles.
"I was kind of thinking about this, too," he said. "In free market principles…employers reserve the right to hire and fire, if they have at-will employment. People that are not reflecting the values of the company. And so I think that's what we're seeing here."
There are some protections for teachers, but they aren't specific
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is not a private employer, so Walters and Woolley don't actually have the authority to determine if a teacher should be fired for their speech. That's up to the state board of education as a group of seven, including Walters, to determine via majority vote.
Under state law, a teacher can only have their license revoked for one of the following reasons, each with its own legal parameters for determining:
1. Willful neglect of duty;
2. Repeated negligence in performance of duty;
3. Mental or physical abuse to a child;
4. Knowing and willful failure to report suspected child abuse or neglect;
5. Incompetency;
6. Instructional ineffectiveness;
7. Unsatisfactory teaching performance;
8. Commission of an act of moral turpitude; or
9. Abandonment of contract.
The state teacher code of conduct, split into three main principles, requires teachers to "exert every effort to raise professional standards," and "fulfill professional responsibilities with honor and integrity," but says nothing about self-expression outside the context of the relevant school community.
Still, Walters speaks publicly as if the power is his alone, and as if he actually has the authority to determine who is an 'American hero' and fire anyone who insults his opinion.
"If we are going to get the country back on track, any teacher glorifying the political assassination of an American hero should not be teaching children," Walters told Newsmax last week. "Charlie Kirk did more to engage the young generation than anyone in history and the radical left killed him for it."
Walters and Woolley aren't the only politicians lionizing Kirk's death. Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, filed a resolution on Tuesday honoring his life and legacy.
Senator Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, has filed three Kirk-related bills:
- Senate Bill 1188: Declares October 14 of each year as "Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day."
- Senate Bill 1187: Requires that every institution of higher education within the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education shall designate and develop a prominent area on its main campus as the "Charlie Kirk Free Speech Plaza."
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 13: Recognizes Charlie Kirk as a martyr for truth, faith and free speech; honors his unwavering courage in defending American liberties; and declares the commitment to perpetuate his legacy of courage and Faith.
Hill, the OSU management and information systems senior, said he prefers politicians to stay away from lionizing political figures – especially dead ones – for favor with voters.
"I don't go with the whole idolizing anyone," Hill said. "I don't idolize Trump. And honestly, a lot of things he does makes me worry about him as a person."
Hill said he voted for Trump in 2024 because he felt best-represented by him, not because everyone else was.
"So I believe that if I put him in power, he'll make decisions that are in line with me," he said. "And if he doesn't, which, sometimes he doesn't, then it's also our job as Republicans, as conservatives, as Christians, to call him out on that as well and hold him accountable."
And that goes for liberals and their political idols too, Hill said.
