A free public ceremony at the Oklahoma State Capitol's fourth-floor rotunda will ask Oklahomans to rededicate the Declaration of Independence on Oct. 14, from 4 to 5 p.m., in what organizers are calling the first public event of a new movement called the Turnaround Project. Attendees will have the chance to sign the Turnaround Declaration of 2026, hear children read the Declaration of Independence aloud, and join what organizers describe as 52 days of prayer.
The event traces back to a single moment in a junior high American government class, according to Turnaround Project founder Marla Hill, as reported by citynewsokc.com. Hill has said a teacher once told her that God is no respecter of persons, explaining that the nation's founders wanted any citizen to be able to run for office and be judged by character. Hill co-founded the Turnaround Project with Ginger Sloan, an Oklahoma City healthcare entrepreneur who is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — a tribe that is the third-largest federally recognized nation in the United States, with more than 225,000 enrolled members and a reservation covering 10,864 square miles across 13 counties; the 10.5-county figure describes a service-area measure, according to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Hill has said the ceremony will not alter the Declaration of Independence itself but will ask participants to vow to uphold and steward it. She has described a knowledge gap around the document's actual text as a great national risk and called the situation a national emergency, according to the same report. Hill has said the Declaration names God as creator and the people as his children, and that the remedy begins with personal responsibility and the heart — citing 2 Chronicles 7:14. She has referred to the people themselves as a fourth branch of government, while saying that people who do not believe in God are welcome to participate.
Who Is Taking the Podium at the Rotunda
State Sen. Shane Jett is scheduled to emcee the Oct. 14 program. Jett has represented Oklahoma Senate District 17 since 2020 and served as inaugural chairman of the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus when it launched in September 2024, according to the Oklahoma Senate. In February 2026, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton stripped Jett of his floor presiding duties and two committee assignments following allegations of self-promotion and procedural delays in the Senate, Hoodline reported in its earlier piece on the Freedom Caucus's runoff losses.
Also on the program is Bob Linn, who serves as President of OCPAC Action, an Oklahoma political action foundation established to promote biblical foundations and Christian heritage in state law and governance, according to the OCPAC Foundation. Jake Merrick, a former Oklahoma state senator for District 22 who served from 2021 to 2022, is also slated to speak; Merrick launched a campaign for Governor of Oklahoma in the 2026 Republican primary and is an ordained minister and former theology professor, according to LegiStorm. Rarchar Tortorello, a co-founder of the Turnaround Project who is identified as executive editor and senior White House correspondent, is set to speak as well, alongside Ginger Sloan, who will give remarks. Joy Howell will sing “God Bless America,” and Betsy Fishborn will sing “Scars and Stripes Forever.”
A Youth Minister's Message From the Book of Esther
Chad Christiansen will deliver a message titled “For Such a Time as This,” drawn from the Book of Esther. Christiansen founded the Oklahoma City-based youth outreach organization In The Gap in 2010 to conduct character education and Bible programs in public schools and communities, following what the group describes as a biblical vision drawn from Ezekiel 22:30, according to Embassy Media. In The Gap Inc is an Oklahoma City-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
The Oct. 14 gathering is free and open to families, churches and the public, and attendees may RSVP, sign the Turnaround Declaration and join the prayer initiative, per the original citynewsokc.com report. The ceremony will take place beneath The Guardian, a 17-foot bronze sculpture installed in 2002 depicting a Native American warrior atop the Capitol dome — making Oklahoma the first state in the nation to top its capitol dome with an Indigenous figure, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. The dome and sculpture were completed in 2002 after an 80-year effort to finish the Capitol building.
A Second Ceremony Planned for Washington
Hill wants to see a rededication in every state, community, school, heart and home, and the Turnaround Project has a second event planned to extend that reach beyond Oklahoma. A starlit ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 30, at 9 p.m., at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., where children will again read the Declaration of Independence aloud and attendees must RSVP. The museum is a 430,000-square-foot institution that opened in November 2017 near the U.S. Capitol, founded by Hobby Lobby president Steve Green, according to the Museum of the Bible.
Organizers have also tied the date to history: King George III addressed both houses of Parliament about the colonies' declaration on Oct. 31, 1776; the 250th anniversary of that address falls the day after the Washington ceremony. Hill is challenging every state to hold its own ceremony before July 3, 2027. Hill has also said she wants churches, schools and student groups such as See You at the Pole to follow the initiative.
