Ryan Walters defends Moms for Liberty after SLPC designates group as extremist
For the first time, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated the conservative organization Moms for Liberty as an extremist group. The update came Tuesday in a report.
On Wednesday, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters issued a statement where he "wholeheartedly condemns the Southern Poverty Law Center's reckless and boneheaded comments toward mothers in Oklahoma."
"This is yet another example of left-wing extremism and their insidious methods of labeling moms engaged in their kids' education as public enemy number one," Walters said in the statement. "I will never stop fighting for the good people of Oklahoma, especially a patriotic organization like Mom's for Liberty. I will always defend Oklahoma from the radical left and their obsession with our children."
Why the SPLC labeled Moms for Liberty as an extremist group
The SPLC says the group is at the forefront of ramped-up and coordinated hard-right attacks on schools, citing disruptions at school board meetings to combat inclusive curriculum, LGBTQ rights and what they see as inappropriate reading material in classrooms and libraries.
The Moms for Liberty website lists Walters as one of several speakers at its national summit later this summer in Philadelphia, and he previously appeared on a Moms for Liberty podcast this year.
More: 'Parents' rights' groups labeled extremist: SPLC lists a key Florida group as anti-government
The SPLC says it documented 523 hate and 702 antigovernment extremist groups last year, totaling 1,225 active groups.
“In 2022, the hard-right movement succeeded in burrowing deeper into people’s lives in visible and material ways, even if it did not have widespread electoral success,” the SPLC says. “Its fingerprints are everywhere: people’s homes, schools, doctors’ offices, libraries, bars, restaurants, churches and other community spaces.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters defends Moms for Liberty
