Oklahoma City – More disturbing connections to real-world violence have surfaced about Ryan Walter’s appointee and ally, Libs Of TikTok (LoTT)’s Chaya Raichik. According to a report from Media Matters and multiple news outlets, at least 17 Planet Fitness gym locations across the country have received bomb threats following an anti-transgender campaign spearheaded by Raichik. From LGBTQ Nation:

“On March 11, Raichik and other outlets began criticizing Planet Fitness for allowing trans girls and women into women’s locker rooms…Raichik’s campaign spread to other right-wing media outlets like Fox News, the OutKick podcast (a FoxCorp. outlet), The Daily Wire broadcasts of transphobe Matt Walsh, and numerous other social media accounts.”

…

"Since LoTT began its campaign against the gym chain, there have been bomb threats reported against Planet Fitness locations in Fairbanks, Alaska, four locations in Providence, Rhode Island, four locations in and around Jackson, Mississippi, various locations in Connecticut, and six locations in Wayne County, Michigan, the watchdog organization added."

This is not the first time Raichik has been associated with threats of violence. Raichik’s posts have repeatedly been linked to harassment and bomb threats against children’s hospitals, medical providers, schools, teachers, drag performances, and more.

For these and many other reasons, last month the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) added Raichik to its “Extremist Files,” which profiles both individual extremists and extremist movements. Raichik is joined on the list by white nationalist figures like David Duke and the Proud Boys.

Yet how did Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction respond to this development? By doubling down on his support. From The Oklahoman:

"Once again, we've seen the radical left stop at nothing to smear anyone who doesn't fall in line with their repressive worldview," Walters said. "No one does more to shed light on the extreme left vision these people want to force on our schools and our kids than Chaya Raichik, and I'm proud she's working with us in Oklahoma."

Statement from HRC Spokesperson Laurel Powell: “Ryan Walters says he is ‘proud’ of the work of a woman who is regularly linked to violence against schools, hospitals, and public spaces. This is abhorrent from any individual, and disqualifying from the man in charge of keeping Oklahoma students safe. Walters, and by extension every member of the Oklahoma Legislature until they remove him, need to be held to account for continuing to platform someone who drives violence and hate each and every day.”

###