Oklahoma’s right-wing schools chief, Ryan Walters, received a stern rebuke this week as a Trump-appointed federal judge tossed out a baseless lawsuit filed by Walters to try to silence a religious freedom organization.
Between a brewing pornography scandal and this court loss, Walters’ past few weeks have been rather eventful.
Walters has pushed to convert Oklahoma’s public schools into hubs of right-wing religious indoctrination.
Walters has pushed to convert Oklahoma’s public schools into hubs of right-wing religious indoctrination, through controversies such as his promotion of Bible-infused lesson plans and his attempt to require that schools show students a propaganda video of him praying for Donald Trump and attacking liberals. The court case that was just tossed involved a lawsuit Walters filed in an attempt to stop the Freedom From Religion Foundation — an organization focused on preventing theocratic rule in the U.S. — from sending letters to Oklahoma school districts raising legal concerns about accounts of school officials proselytizing to students, such as with school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings.
The lawsuit baselessly claimed that the group’s advocacy “has interfered with and will continue to interfere with” Oklahoma education officials’ ability to do their work. And U.S. District Court Judge John Heil — a Trump appointee and member of the right-wing Federalist Society — simply wasn’t having it.
In his ruling, the judge called Walters’ claims “nothing more than conjecture,” noting that the schools chief had completely failed to show that his work had been impeded.








