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Oklahoma Tries to Revoke Teacher's License Over Facebook Photo

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Oklahoma Tries to Revoke Teacher's License Over Facebook Photo


The Oklahoma State Department of Education is attempting to remove a teacher’s license over a 2019 social media photo.

Regan Killackey shared a photo five years ago showing him and his family in a costume store posing with a mask of Donald Trump. Killackey and one of his children are holding plastic swords, intimating an attack on the mask.

The photo, shared to Facebook, was of no consequence until five years later when — in the aftermath of Trump’s first assassination attempt — someone sent a screenshot of the post to the Oklahoma Department of Education with a description: “Posted picture on personal Instagram account of the fictitious stabbing of fake presidential candidate mask.”

A person wearing glasses, making a grimace, and holding a toy sword stands beside a child whose face is blurred. Another child wearing a mask resembling a person with blonde hair and also holding a toy sword stands in front of them. They appear to be in a store.
Screenshot of the 2019 post, via Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma Watch reports that the department took swift and harsh action, dishing out the toughest discipline possible: revoking Killackey’s teaching certificate.

The case is being overseen by Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters who Oklahoma Watch describes as “prioritizing punishing a teacher over political speech he disagreed with in order to score political points.”

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Walters, a Donald Trump supporter, has previously stated that: “There is no place for a teacher with a liberal political agenda in the classroom.”

“We want to make sure to send a message loud and clear: no one will be able to teach in the state of Oklahoma if they advocate for the assassination of President Trump, or any elected official,” Walters said at a July 31 meeting, referring to Killackey.

However, the First Amendment prevents disciplining a teacher for political speech — or in this case, a photo — made as a private citizen.

“It doesn’t matter if people find the remarks unpalatable,” Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, tells Oklahoma Watch. “No amount of political outrage can undermine their constitutional rights.”

Killackey teaches AP English in Edmond and is one of the plaintiffs suing Oklahoma over HB 1775, a bill that bans the teaching of certain concepts around race and gender.

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“Well number one, I was shocked,” Killackey tells News 4 about his reaction. “And number two, I thought it was some sort of mistake or some prank or something like that.”

Killackey has been a teacher for over 20 years but the department has taken the first steps to remove his license. For now, he remains certified.

If the case turns into a legal process, it will be taxpayers who foot the bill and Tommy Adler of Adler Markoff & Associates tells News 4 it would be an easy case to win.

“The Supreme Court’s been incredibly clear. I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your ability to say it. It’s the core of First Amendment speech,” says Adler.


Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

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Three Big 12 Transfers Oklahoma State Is Reportedly Interested In

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Three Big 12 Transfers Oklahoma State Is Reportedly Interested In


PORTAL TRACKER 

Oklahoma State’s newly constructed staff got on the board Saturday, picking up portal commitments on offense and special special teams, so how about some defense?

Three Big 12 defenders have been linked with Oklahoma State via the transfer portal over the past few days, including a pair of former OK Preps standouts. Here’s a look.

Kanijal Thomas, CB, Kansas State

Thomas is an Oklahoman, playing his high school ball at Del City. He visited Stillwater on Saturday, according to On3.

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He was a redshirt sophomore for the Wildcats in 2025, playing in seven games as a true freshman in 2023 before an injury saw his sophomore season end two games in.

Thomas played in eight games at K-State in 2025, finishing the year with five tackles, a PBU and a forced fumble. According to PFF, he gave up four catches for 21 yards this season on seven targets.

Now listed at 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, Thomas was a three-star prospect coming out of Del City in the 2023 class. He picked K-State over offers from OSU, Texas Tech, Iowa State and others.

Maurion Horn, CB, Texas Tech

Another Oklahoma kid, Maurion Horn has spent the past four seasons in Lubbock, where he has played in 30 games during that time. According to 247Sports, Horn will visit Stillwater on Monday.

He started all of Tech’s games in 2024, finishing that season with 56 tackles, three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He played in seven games and dealt with some sort of injury, appearing on Tech’s availability report in Weeks 4, 14 and 15.

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Horn has been targeted 88 times in his career, per PFF, where he has allowed just 47 catches.

He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Broken Arrow. He ended up picking Tech over offers from OSU, OU, Texas, Baylor, Arkansas and others.

Braylon Rigsby, Edge, Texas Tech

Listed at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, Braylon Rigsby will join his Texas Tech teammate in Stillwater on Monday, according to 247Sports.

He’s played in 26 games across the past two seasons in Lubbock, accumulating 25 tackles and three tackles for loss during that time.

Per PFF, Rigsby has 21 QB pressures in his career to go with two QB hits.

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He hails from Woodsville, Texas, which is near the Louisiana border. Rigsby was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, coming in as the No. 861 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking.



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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma

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Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma


Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.

Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.

News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.

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“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.

Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.

He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.

He has concerns about what comes next.

“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.

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The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.

“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.

Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.

Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.

A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

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Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

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Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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