Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:46 a.m. on March 28 to include statements from a university spokesperson.
A banner, fliers and yard signs promoting OU Turning Point USA’s event hosting Riley Gaines were vandalized and destroyed a week before the event, according to OU Turning Point USA members.
Kalib Magana, president of Turning Point USA’s OU chapter, told OU Daily in an interview that, as of Thursday, the organization has filed three police reports with the OU Police Department regarding property damage.
Magana said a large banner promoting the event was graffitied with orange spray paint on Wednesday with the words “Nazi Grift” written on the back and “BOO” written on the front across Gaines’ picture.
Back of Turning Point USA's banner promoting the Riley Gaines event which was vandalized with orange spray paint on March 26.
“We've been dealing with this for two weeks now. Everyone should have their freedom of speech, freedom of expression,” Magana said. “Everyone deserves a voice.”
According to Magana, OUPD found video on cameras around campus of a person vandalizing the banner at 7:24 a.m. Wednesday, but the camera was too far away to identify the person.
According to an email sent to OU Daily from Chase Brooks, OUPD public information officer, the investigation is ongoing and the incident report is not available.
Magana wrote in an email to OU Daily that yard signs and fliers promoting the event — which he wrote Turning Point USA spent $700 on — have also gone missing over the past few days.
“I hope the university will sympathize with us and help provide funds for a new banner, this is just sickening, a hate crime, hinderance (sic) of freedom of speech, and property damage,” Magana wrote.
On Thursday, while Turning Point USA boothed on the South Oval, someone began kicking down yard signs of the event in front of them. When Magana went up to confront them, they grabbed his phone, pushed him, stole a yard sign and ran away.
Jordan Cantrell, a Turning Point USA member who was boothing at the time, said shortly after the first incident with Magana, another student began knocking their yard signs over again.
Cantrell said there’s been a large reaction to the event, with many insulting and name calling Turning Point USA members.
“There’s people taking physical action with the stomping of the signs and everything like that,” Cantrell said. “Everytime we set up, there’s people driving by yelling … they take the opportunity at stop lights to flip us off.”
An OU spokesperson wrote in an email to OU Daily that the university aware of multiple incidents involving vandalism of a registered student organization's signs and acts of vandalism violate the law.
"Any individuals engaged in destructive actions will be held accountable," the spokesperson wrote.
The spokesperson wrote that complaints will be investigated by the police for criminal conduct and handled in accordance with OU's policies for violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
"To the extent these acts were an attempt to impede the rights of others to exercise their First Amendment rights, this violates a core value we hold at OU, and it will not be permitted," the spokesperson wrote. "We are investigating the matter thoroughly and encourage anyone with information to contact the OU Police Department."
Magana said he anticipates many people of different viewpoints and political perspectives to attend the event.
“We actually encourage people who don't see (Gaines’) point of view or want to know more about her view to attend the event so that they could also learn …,” Magana said. “I want them to see what we're really advocating for here.”
Magana said this issue is important to him because he wants everyone to equally respect the right to free speech.
“We all have a right to free speech, freedom of expression, private property, and all of those rights that we have have been just thrown away, damaged,” Magana said. “Hopefully from this event people will learn that we should be more accepting of other people's views, and that just because you're a Democrat, just because you're conservative, we can agree to disagree. We want to make sure that everybody's points of views are heard, but in a peaceful manner.”
Gaines, a conservative political activist known for speaking against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, will speak to students and participate in a Q&A and debate session on April 2 in Dale Hall.
The OU Student Socialist League announced on Instagram it will host a teach-in during the same time as the Turning Point USA’s event to discuss transphobia.
In November, Gaines spoke at Oklahoma State University about her experience competing against a transgender athlete.
Founded in 2012 by conservative media personality Charlie Kirk and businessman Bill Montgomery, Turning Point USA is a national organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and university campuses. Turning Point USA has a strong media presence with Kirk hosting “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a conservative daily radio show.
Kirk will be speaking at Oklahoma State University next week at the International Mall building as part of his “The American Comeback” tour. All events on the tour are free to guests.
OU’s history of free speech
In November, Greg Lukianoff, author and president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, delivered the keynote address for OU’s Free Speech Week. Lukianoff spoke on cancel culture and free speech at universities.
In 2021, FIRE criticized OU in an article for an “Anti-Racist Rhetoric & Pedagogies” workshop held by an OU professor. While the workshop was voluntary, FIRE wrote that the workshop was teaching participants to limit free speech among students. FIRE then posted a recording of the workshop to its YouTube channel.
Following the posting of the article and video in 2021, Julie Ward, OU American Association of University Professors vice president, criticized FIRE and said its actions left OU faculty members vulnerable to online hate.
In 2022, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. announced the university will adopt the Chicago Statement in celebration of national Free Speech Week.
The Chicago Statement is a set of principles that emphasizes the importance of freedom of expression on college campuses and was developed at the University of Chicago in 2014 and has been adopted by over 80 universities.
This story was edited by Peggy Dodd, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza.
