Activists' Lies Surrounding the Death of a "Nonbinary" Oklahoma Teen Falls Apart

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How important is a narrative? Is it more important than the truth? Is it more important than a mourning family? On February 8, a young sophomore student named Dagny “Nex” Benedict tragically died. The police are still investigating the cause, waiting for a toxicology report to further explain why, yet there were explosive accusations this week that this teen, who allegedly identified as non-binary, was “beaten to death” on the bathroom floor by “three older girls” because of right-wing rhetoric spread by the likes of LibsOfTikTok.

LibsOfTikTok rose to fame by combing through TikTok videos of leftists and simply reposting them on Twitter (now X). The videos weren’t edited to make them look worse; she’d simply shine a light on the peculiar people who voluntarily post their content online. As the channel grew, people began sending in tips, and LibsOfTikTok became a target under the old Twitter regime before Elon Musk purchased the platform. After reporter Taylor Lorenz exposed the account’s identity, Seth Dillon of The Babylon Bee promised to protect Chaya Raichik, so she could continue her reporting.

Two years ago, Raichik drew attention to a video of Owasso teacher Tyler Wrynn, which led to his resignation. “If your parents don’t love and accept you for who you are this Christmas, f**k them. I’m your parents now.” Raichik was also named to an Oklahoma library media advisory committee by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters, despite the fact Raichik does not live in the state.

So, these are some of the contributing factors that led accounts like UnderTheDeskNews (3.1M followers), Jeffery Marsh (688K), and others accusing Raichik of being responsible for Benedict’s death. The Independent wrote an article about Benedict, and much of it focused on Raichik. The story has now made mainstream news, and the likes of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other politicians to call out hateful rhetoric that led to the death of this teen.

But here’s what we do know. On February 7, Benedict self-reported through text messages to a family member that she had gotten into a fight with three girls. According to released bodycam footage, Benedict did not know them. They were freshmen who made fun of her clothes and then of Benedict’s laugh while they were in the bathroom (no mention of her nonbinary identity). Benedict threw water on them, which prompted them to attack. They pulled hair, Benedict pushed one of the girls into a paper towel dispenser, and then she was wrestled to the ground. According to Benedict, her friend tried to jump in but then she began to blackout. The fight lasted for about two minutes, and the girls were pulled away by students and a staff member.

According to reports, the students were able to walk to the office and were checked out by a medical professional. It was recommended one of the students (presumably Benedict) seek further medical attention, so she went to the hospital around 3:30 PM. Benedict was also suspended because of the no-tolerance policy. When Benedict’s guardian asked a police officer about pursuing charges, he warned that Benedict technically assaulted them first and would possibly be charged as well.

Benedict texted that she was fine, but she had scrapes and bruises. The hospital gave her a shot in the butt for the pain. She also noted that if she felt nauseous or dizzy, that would be a sign of a concussion.

The next day, Benedict passed out at home and was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to the police’s report of the autopsy, the cause of death was not trauma. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t ultimately come to find the cause of death was due to complications from the fight. Police noted earlier that all charges would be on the table. Even though the freshmen were not charged yet, UnderTheDeskNews called on her millions of followers to report the girls to the police, after rejecting the possibility that Benedict’s death could be due to other factors.

Is it possible Benedict had a bad reaction to the shot? Is it possible there was another underlying condition or something else ingested that led to her demise? We simply don’t know at this moment, and we’re waiting for more information. And even if those girls end up charged with manslaughter, there is no evidence LibsOfTikTok inspired them to beat a child to death on the bathroom floor.

But narrative is a very powerful thing. After the family posted a GoFundMe page for Benedict, they were criticized for not using they/them pronouns. Her mother, Sue, wrote, “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 the correct name of their choice. The rest of the monies will go to other children dealing with the right to be who they feel they are, in Nex Benedict’s name. God bless.”

What benefit does it serve to berate a family over the name they gave to a child they have to mourn and bury? In the bodycam footage, Nex was referred to as “Dagny.” She/her pronouns were used repeatedly, and she did not seem to mind. Is the outrage from strangers for Dagny’s and her family’s sake or is it just part of the victim mob mentality that will lash out anyone who doesn’t conform to their dogma?

What benefit does it serve to refuse to accept police reporting and blame an internet personality who exists to platform leftist ideology that is already voluntarily made public? What benefit does it serve to issue death threats against the school?

There’s a difference between honoring and celebrating a person versus using what they are for political gain. These activists are going on networks like CNN to demand Superintendent Ryan Walters step down, Chaya Raichik be removed from the library board, the removal of bathroom bills, and the federal passing of the Equality Act. The truth doesn’t matter to these people. All that matters is the narrative.

If all that matters is “what” a person is or rather what they identify as, that’s far more dehumanizing than LibsOfTikTok posting videos and warning parents about dirty books and activist teachers. I don’t want to live in a dystopian future where the truth doesn’t matter because there will come a day when you’ll be sacrificed for the narrative as well.

Loss of life is always tragic, especially a young life. But that doesn’t grant the license to lie.