Oklahomans to Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik: 'Stay out of our state'

Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik may be tight with some conservative Oklahoma politicians, but there are plenty of Oklahomans who don’t want her in their state.

The anti-LGBTQ+ and especially anti-transgender activist posted last week on X, “Should I go to Oklahoma next week?” Oklahoma parents and allies of trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth, plus several organizations, have responded by releasing an open letter calling on Raichik to stay out of the state and to resign from an Oklahoma library advisory board.

“We would like to express our anger and resentment at your decision to target young people in Oklahoma — our state, our home — as well as your dangerous obsession with spreading hate against the 2SLGBTQ+ community and youth,” says the letter, released Wednesday. “Your attempt to strongarm local communities into policies that create a climate of hate, fear and violence undermines the rights and dignity of Oklahomans and our communities.”

Raichik doesn’t live in Oklahoma; she has a home in California and often visits Florida. As of last month, she had visited Oklahoma only once. That didn’t keep Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a far-right Republican, from naming her to the library board.

Nor has it kept her from harassing LGBTQ+ Oklahomans and their supporters, according to the authors of the letter. Tyler Wrynn, a supportive teacher at Owasso High School in Oklahoma, was harassed and eventually resigned after Raichik targeted him in 2022. This was upsetting to Nex Benedict, the trans Owasso student who died last month a day after being beaten in a school restroom, Benedict’s grandmother said.

After Raichik focused attention on an Oklahoma school principal who is also a drag performer, he was forced to resign as well. A school in Tulsa received bomb threats last year after Raichik posted about its librarian, an advocate for inclusivity.

“As parents, we see firsthand the challenges, bigotry, and discrimination too many children face on a daily basis,” the letter reads. “And tragically, now we have seen violence. Whether or not you decide to make your way to Oklahoma, we know that the hostility you peddle is traveling to us. The Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-2SLGBTQ+, Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group, is protesting outside Owasso schools this week, bringing the bigoted cruelty you share so easily online to our school’s front doors. We have to ask why you choose to stoke division and prejudice?”

The letter goes on to demand Raichik’s resignation from the library committee, then concludes, “You, and any organization that seeks to bring hate into Oklahoma, are not welcome in our state or in positions of authority and influence here. And we implore you to reflect on the impact of your actions. Our state has just lost one child, and your deliberately cruel attempts to dehumanize transgender people for clicks and likes created a hostile environment in which tragedy felt inevitable. Stay away from our children and stay out of our state.”

The letter is signed by Oklahoma parents and allies of Two-Spirit, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth; the organizations Matriarch, Freedom Oklahoma, Free Mom Hugs Oklahoma Chapter; and the Human Rights Campaign’s Oklahoma supporters and members.