Prior to the Summit, liberal activist organizations Red State Revolt and Occupy Education had indicated they would attempt to stop the event from proceeding. Activist and filmmaker Mark Faulk, the leader of both organizations, called for protesters to attend the event and disrupt the program. Faulk’s efforts gained publicity due to initial support from some public education leaders, including Midwest City – Del City Superintendent Rick Cobb and #OklaEd activist Claudia Swisher.

Event organizer Robert Ruiz, CEO of the pro-school choice group Choice Matters, told radio show host Trent England that he was contacted by OCCC police less than 48 hours before the event and asked to move to a different venue. Ruiz said that he was told that the college was concerned about a threat by Faulk to “do anything he had to do to shut the event down.”

Following negotiation with the college, the event was allowed to proceed and interested parties were asked to come to the summit as originally planned.

As attendees prepared to enter the main auditorium of OCCC’s Performing Arts Center, a fire alarm rang and campus police directed all attendees to exit the building. The all-clear was given shortly after and people were invited to reenter the event.

Approximately 20 individuals apparently linked to Occupy Education and Red State Revolt were denied access to the auditorium, though they were allowed into the lobby and to voice their opposition to the event.

Among the protesters denied access, Faulk and about a dozen followers loudly demanded entry to the event and voiced their displeasure with recent and proposed education reforms designed to offer more education choices for parents and students.

“For those who don’t know,” Faulk yelled, “One more time, this is funded by the Koch Brothers. This is funded by ALEC. This is funded by the Walton Family Foundation. This is funded by Betsy DeVos, who is, right now, getting ready to be confirmed as Trump’s secretary of education, who, in turn, wants to turn half of the schools into charter schools and the other half into the prison pipeline from education.

“That’s what the problem is here. You put half the kids, you cherry-pick them, and you leave the other half behind. Mostly poor children and children of color. And you target them to go to prison. And to feed CCA and Geo Group in the prison industrial complex.

“If you allow charter schools to do this, education will die in Oklahoma.” When pressed for facts about Oklahoma charter schools to back up these claims, Faulk declined to offer examples.

The event and protests took placed on the same day the State School Board approved Oklahoma’s second rural charter school.