Libs of TikTok tried to smear Chasten Buttigieg. He wasn’t having it.

Chasten Buttigieg had no time for the insults being hurled at him by the viciously anti-LGBTQ+ hate influencer Chaya Raichik.

At a forum hosted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Buttigieg – husband of out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – blasted the “many, many adults” who failed Nex Benedict, the trans Oklahoma teen who died a day after three girls attacked them in a high school girls’ bathroom. Buttigieg specifically mentioned Raichik, who was recently appointed to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee. The committee decides what public school students in the state are allowed to read.

Related: Hate influencer Chaya Raichik left sputtering when asked why she hates trans people so much

“Chaya Raichik is currently the most mad that she has ever been in her life.”

“Last time I checked, [she] doesn’t live in the state of Oklahoma and doesn’t even hold a degree in library science or education,” he reportedly said. “Placing individuals who have openly attacked LGBTQ+ rights in positions that influence educational policy sends a dangerous message. It undermines the very foundation of what education should be—a place of safety, growth, and inclusivity.”

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.

Daily * Weekly * Good News *

Raichik – who is known for inspiring bomb threats against public institutions that are LGBTQ+-inclusive – tried to play the victim in response to Buttigeg’s comments.

“The husband of a current Cabinet member publicly blasted a citizen journalist because I post tiktoks he doesn’t like and don’t want kids being transed in school,” Raichik wrote on X. “Does anyone else find this alarming.”

In addition to the national influence Raichik has gained through her anti-LGBTQ+ activism, her role in the Oklahoma Department of Education officially cements her as far more than a citizen journalist.

Buttigieg quickly responded to Raichik’s attempt to garner sympathy.

“As a parent and former teacher, I want qualified people involved in education,” he wrote on X. “This is actually quite simple. Chaya isn’t qualified for her appointed government position. She doesn’t live in Oklahoma. Holds no degree in education. Zero classroom experience. The rest is theatrics.”

As a parent and former teacher, I want qualified people involved in education. This is actually quite simple. Chaya isn't qualified for her appointed government position. She doesn't live in Oklahoma. Holds no degree in education. Zero classroom experience. The rest is theatrics. pic.twitter.com/dV78j7Dx7t

— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) March 10, 2024

Brandon Wolf, HRC press secretary, replied to Raichik in support of Buttigieg. “Aren’t you a political appointee, a job for which you are totally unfit?” wrote Wolf. “I find that alarming.”

Aren’t you a political appointee, a job for which you are totally unfit?

I find that alarming. https://t.co/C8cPIahO3v

— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) March 10, 2024

Raichik has achieved national infamy for her posts targeting LGBTQ+ educators and allies, and multiple reports have linked her social media posts to subsequent bomb threats against the institutions she highlights.

Concerning the bomb threats she’s thought to have inspired based on multiple reports, Raichik has claimed that she is merely sharing information and can’t control how her social media followers respond to her posts. However, her account regularly echoes right-wing claims of LGBTQ+ people and allies “indoctrinating,” “grooming,” and “sexualizing” kids — rhetoric that leads to violence against queer people and their allies. Her bio on X once proudly touted her being labeled as a “stochastic terrorist,” a person who uses mass media to provoke random acts of ideologically motivated violence.

During the HRC forum, Buttigieg also called out Oklahoma’s rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who appointed Raichik and has spent his tenure demonizing LGBTQ+ people.

Don't forget to share: