Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma introduced legislation that would require public colleges to erect statues of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk or face fines.
GOP state Sens. Shane Jett and Dana Prieto, both Republicans, sponsored the bill instructing colleges to create a “Charlie Kirk Memorial Plaza.” The schools would also have to include signage describing Kirk as a “modern civil rights leader, vocal Christian, martyr for truth and faith and free speech advocate,” according to the Heartland Signal.
"Square or plaza plans shall include a statue of Charlie Kirk sitting at a table with an empty seat across from him or a statue of Charlie Kirk and his wife standing and holding their children in their arms as a central element of the square or plaza design," the bill states.
Private institutions in Oklahoma would be able to apply for grant funds to establish similar memorials to Kirk.
Colleges that failed to erect Kirk statues would face "a punitive fine of one percent (1%) of the institution of higher education’s appropriated budget for each month of noncompliance," the legislation said.
Students or employees who damaged or defaced the memorials would be subject to termination and fines.
It was not clear if schools could include information about Kirk's controversial ideology, which included calling Martin Luther King Jr. "awful" and describing the Civil Rights Act as a "huge mistake."
