Although he’s been floating around in right-wing obscurity for the past 10 months, Ryan Walters is still finding ways to spend Oklahoma taxpayer money!
According to Oklahoma Voice, the state is on the hook for $132,000 to settle lawsuits filed by two former Oklahoma State Department of Education employees who claimed Walters and his evil henchman, Matt “Wormtongue” Langston, violated their First Amendment rights.
Via Oklahoma Voice:
Taxpayers will cover $132,000 in lawsuit settlements owed to two fired Oklahoma State Department of Education employees who sued former state Superintendent Ryan Walters and his senior adviser.
Cheryl McGee and Matt Colwell each sued Walters and Matt Langston in Oklahoma City federal court in 2023. Both had been fired that year for sharing agency information with individuals outside of the Education Department.
They contended Walters and Langston violated their First Amendment rights by putting an overly broad restraint on their speech. Because Walters and Langston were acting within the scope of their authority as agency officials, the state of Oklahoma is responsible for paying both plaintiffs’ settlements under state indemnification laws.
That’s infuriating.
When lawmakers return to session next year, can we change the law so the right-wing psychos we keep electing to positions of power and consequence are personally responsible for this crap instead of taxpayers?