Libs of TikTok Creator, Oklahoma School Superintendent Blamed in Death of Student: Onslaught of Hate and Death Threats Persist

Despite the concrete facts surrounding this incident, attacks on the perceived Boogeyman continue unabated.

Feb 23, 2024

Once more, the Internet is ablaze with anger and accusations, as the passing of Nex Benedict, a sophomore from Oklahoma, stirs intense emotions and assigns blame across various fronts. On February 7th, 2024 a fight broke out in the female restroom of Owasso High School involving several teen girls that resulted in one student being treated at a local medical facility following the incident. In a statement from the school, they reported that the incident lasted less than two minutes and that the parents of the students were all made aware that they could file a police report if they felt one was in order. None of the parents did according to Owasso Police Department. Nex was rushed to the hospital where the student was later pronounced dead, according to a statement posted on the OPD’s Facebook page the following day:

“It is not known at this time if the death is related to the incident at the school or not. A thorough investigation is being conducted by Owasso Police Detectives who are currently awaiting an autopsy report and toxicology results.”

Benedict is being reported as having been non-binary, which is where the rest of this story comes in. In the aftermath of Nex’s death circulating via news outlets and having gone viral on social media, the narrative was quickly established that the altercation in the Owasso restroom was a targeted hate crime. The Internet immediately began the quest to assign blame for the child’s death.

According to social media, the top contenders for causing the fight were Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik and Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters. If this seems like an odd combination to assign blame to, the duo have been targeted due to Superintendent Walters appointing Raichik to the Library Media Review Committee last month.

Walters has been a driving force in eradicating the sexualization of Oklahoma students, shining a light on the dangers of boys sharing girls’ school restrooms, and explicit material in Oklahoma public libraries.

This move to appoint Raichik to the library review committee by Walters enraged many within the LGBTQ+ community. This was stoked by the media which for over a year has labeled Raichik a “domestic terrorist,” saying she should be blamed for any perceived attacks against the LGBTQ+ community for her sharing of TikTok videos publicly available on the app. Raichik doesn’t edit any of the videos, she simply reposts them to the Libs of TikTok account on 𝕏.

Walters released the following statement in Benedict’s death:

“The safety and security of our students is my top priority as well as the first responsibility of Oklahoma schools. I mourn the loss of our student in Owasso and pray for God’s comfort for the family and the entire Owasso community.
As part of Oklahoma’s comprehensive School-Based Mental Health Implementation, I have committed all available resources from OSDE to assist Owasso Public Schools during this tragedy and await the full results of the ongoing investigation of the incident by law enforcement.”

After the news of Nex’s death was reported by local media, it soon went viral on social media platforms and so began a flood of unhinged comments and other responses lashing out at Raichik. Many of these blamed Nex’s death on her coverage of a teacher at the high school over two years ago.

Raichik responded to one reporter on Monday saying, “The media is blaming me for a nonbinary student being k*lled at school because 2 years ago I happened to post a tiktok from a teacher in that school. The victim was a sophomore. She wasn’t even attending the school when I posted the tiktok.”

This is not the first time Raichik has dealt with attacks by news outlets that in turn resulted in her receiving a tsunami of messages, emails, and social media posts lashing out for her coverage of the LGBTQ+ community. Many of the messages she receives read “Kill yourself,” or promise that she will be hunted down and killed in her sleep. Raichik routinely receives death threats on public social media posts, direct messages, and forums like Reddit where users have called for her public execution. “We shouldn’t mince our words. I want her to be hanged,” one post reads.

Social media influencers, LGBTQ+ advocates, and a myriad of popular online personalities have also been outspoken about Raichik being the cause of Benedict’s death, with some calling on their followers to harass the Libs of TikTok creator.

Jeffrey Marsh, who advocates for minors in the LGBTQ+ to reach him for private conversations and cut off all contact with their families posted a message to his TikTok account regarding Raichik’s receiving a spot on the Oklahoma library panel saying, “The reason I bring this up is because these gestures, these far-right attacks, these elevations of anti-trans folks have deadly consequences.” Marsh then directly references the student’s death, inferring Raichik’s appointment to the board as being the cause.

TikToker Vitus (V) Spehar, who has 3.1M followers also chimed in on the situation blaming Walters’s appointing of Raichik to the board. Spehar says the Libs of TikTok account along with “broad attacks on trans children resulted in the death of a child.” Spehar goes on to falsely report to her millions of followers that Benedict was beaten “to death on the floor of the girls’ bathroom”. Even in the earliest reports via local media and in a released statement from the Owasso Police Department, we know Nex went home after the incident and went to the hospital the next day.

Rebekah Jones, known for her unhealthy obsession with DeSantis and unsubstantiated whistleblower complaint after being terminated from her management position for the team that created Florida's ArcGIS COVID-19 dashboard, repeatedly flip-flopped in a TikTok post claiming Benedict was “beaten to death in a high school,” then immediately saying she died the next day. Jones not only placed blame on Raichik and Walters for the incident, but riled up her followers on TikTok to go after Raichik saying, “You know what to do.”

In addition to having the finger pointed at her for the death of the Oklahoma sophomore, Raichik has been blamed by several major media outlets in the past for bomb threats. NBC reported earlier this month that posts made by Libs of TikTok have caused the targeting of public school administration, teachers, and library workers.

Libs of TikTok is a popular account on 𝕏, garnering 2.1M followers for their exposing sexually explicit books in school libraries, school staff that crossdress on campus, students being disciplined for not using “preferred pronouns,” and hiding social transitioning from parents, among other inappropriate happenings in public schools. While many of the posts seen on the Libs of TikTok account are from publicly available posts on social media, often uploaded by the subject themselves, the general public can also send in tips regarding incidents they have witnessed firsthand or concerns they have over school staff. Mandated training teachers have received, inappropriate student assignments, and explicit material being available to students in some public schools have all been anonymously reported as tips to the account.

The details of the OHS fight started to slowly trickle out in the days after the incident in the restroom, including Nex’s family releasing messages sent to a friend after the fight. In the messages, Nex reports, “I got jumped at school 3 on 1, had to go to the ER.” When the friend asks if she’s okay, Nex responds saying, “All good, just scraps [sp] and bruises.” The friend tries to understand what sparked the incident and asks what steps were taken by the school. “They had been bullying me and my friends and I got tired of it so I poured some water on them and all 3 came after me,” Nex says. “Then they lost the girls after they made me and my friends seperate [sp] and one of my friends had to be escorted to his bus because they couldn’t find him.”

In addition to the aforementioned messages, on Wednesday, February 21st, the OPD released a new statement on Benedict’s death, saying the student “did not die as a result of trauma.”

"While the investigation continues into the altercation. Preliminary information from the medical examiner’s office is that a complete autopsy was performed and indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma. At this time, any further comments on the cause of death are currently pending until toxicology results and other ancillary testing results are received. The official autopsy report will be available at a later date."

The Benedict family has also received backlash on social media after referring to Nex as Dagny, her given name prior to taking on the name Nex on their GoFundMe for the child’s funeral expenses which has already surpassed the original goal of $15,000 at almost $120,000 at the writing of this article.

Feeling intense pressure from the attacks, the family issued an update on the fundraiser on Monday. The child’s beneficiary, Sue Benedict apologized for using Nex’s “dead name” in the GoFundMe and asked for grace for their “ignorance on the subject.”

The update reads:

“We at this time are thankful for the ongoing support and did not expect the love from everyone. We are sorry for not using their name correctly and as parents we were still learning the correct forms. Please do not judge us as Nex was judged, please do not bully us for our ignorance on the subject. Nex gave us that respect and we are sorry in our grief that we overlooked them. I lost my child, the headstone will have correct name of their choice. The rest of monies will go to other children dealing with the right to be who they feel they are, in Nex Benedict’s name. God bless.”

Where will the LGBTQ+ mob place blame now that initial autopsy reports have proven Benedict’s death was not due to injuries she may have sustained during the fight in the school restroom? The emotionally unstable mob has already moved onto their next rage-fest by attacking Benedict’s family for not using the child’s preferred name and instead referring to Nex as the little girl they knew and loved as Dagny. Numerous individuals were praising the family, extending condolences one moment, only to swiftly turn around and launch attacks at the very same family who had tragically lost their loved one just two weeks prior.

What motivates certain members of this recently safeguarded group and their supporters to brazenly issue death threats, confident that they will evade consequences for their violent intentions? They advocate for the demise of individuals they label as the "Boogeyman," urging them to commit suicide or plotting their murder, while also mobilizing their followers to perpetuate harassment against those they hold accountable, irrespective of the truth of the matter. It appears that no one is immune from the reach of what has proven to be a disturbed, precarious, and increasingly volatile crowd.

Submit Corrections

Wrong Speak Publishing

Discussion about this post