Kristi Fulnecky, a former Springfield City Council member and conservative commentator, has long been one of southwest Missouri's most polarising public figures. That reputation is now resurfacing as her daughter, University of Oklahoma (OU) student Samantha Fulnecky, faces viral scrutiny over a zero-grade academic controversy.
Kristi's own public track record includes IRS tax disputes, pandemic-era lawsuits, tense clashes with city officials and repeated questions about her online conduct, including reports of blocking constituents during her time in office. As attention shifts to the Fulnecky family once again, her history of sustained controversy is shaping how many interpret the latest headlines involving her daughter.
READ MORE: University of Oklahoma Responds After Student Given Zero for Bible-Cited Essay Sparks Free Speech Row
READ MORE: University of Oklahoma Professor Hits Back in Essay Row: 'Does Not Answer the Questions for This Assignment'
Samantha Fulnecky and The Zero-Graded Essay
The University of Oklahoma has placed a graduate student instructor on leave and launched a formal review after psychology junior Samantha Fulnecky went public with claims that she was discriminated against for citing the Bible in an essay that received a zero. In a statement posted on X, OU said it had activated its First Amendment and religious-freedom review processes, contacted the student the same day her complaint was submitted, run a formal grade appeal and taken 'steps to ensure there was no academic harm to the student'.
Statement from the University of Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/5YWBfyW9u0
— University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) November 30, 2025
According to reporting from The OU Daily and The Oklahoman, the assignment asked students to respond to an article about how people are perceived based on gender expectations. In her essay, later published by The Oklahoman, Fulnecky argued that traditional gender roles should not be treated as stereotypes and wrote that eliminating gender would move people 'farther from God's original plan for humans', citing the Bible as her primary authority.
The instructor, a graduate student, reportedly told the paper that the failing grade was based on the lack of empirical evidence in the submission and described portions of the essay as offensive, arguing that a psychology course requires arguments grounded in research rather than scripture alone. Fulnecky maintains that the brief did not explicitly require empirical citations and says university policy protects expression even when others find it objectionable.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has weighed in, calling the situation 'deeply concerning' in a post on X and urging the OU Board of Regents to review the outcome of the investigation to ensure that 'other students aren't unfairly penalised for their beliefs'.
Online Sleuths Link Student to Ex-Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky
As the grading dispute spread on social media, online users began highlighting that Samantha is the daughter of Kristi Fulnecky, a conservative attorney and former Springfield, Missouri, city councilwoman. One X user summed up a common reaction with: 'Oh, so lack of accountability runs in the family.'
Oh, so lack of accountability runs in the family
— alliaceous allie (@AllieTheEditor) December 1, 2025
Kristi, now based in Missouri, is an attorney and owner of Fulnecky Law LLC, with a practice that includes constitutional and civil-rights litigation. She previously worked in the US Department of the Interior's Solicitor's Office and also runs Fulnecky Enterprises, a Native American and woman-owned construction-management business.
On Facebook, Kristi publicly celebrated her daughter's stand, sharing the Oklahoman front page and writing that the essay was an opinion-based assignment and calling Samantha 'a warrior for Christ'.
So proud of my daughter, Samantha. Front page of the Oklahoman. This was an opinion-based essay. A warrior for Christ!
Posted by Kristi Fulnecky on Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Critics, however, have used the moment to revisit Kristi's own track record in local politics. A viral X thread described her as 'J6er attorney, podcaster, media personality, evangelical, town nuisance', arguing that the current OU clash fits a broader pattern of grievance-driven conservative activism.
This woman is the Platonic ideal of American social rot. J6er attorney, podcaster, media personality, evangelical, town nuisance. Raised a child that has not a single core competency you’d expect from a middle school graduate and is determined to make alllll of that everyone… https://t.co/oDxqgQMVzY
— barbarism critic (@barbarismcrit) December 1, 2025
How the Mother's Political and Legal Battles Shape Public Reaction
During her time on Springfield City Council, Kristi Fulnecky became a polarising figure. In 2015, five fellow council members formally requested an investigation into whether she was eligible to hold office after city records showed her company, Fulnecky Enterprises, had operated for several years without a required local business licence. The mayor later said publicly that she 'should never have been eligible' to take office under a charter clause barring office-holders who are in arrears on city taxes.
I VOTED! You have until November 4 to vote early with no reason/excuse. Make your voice heard...early!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Posted by Kristi Fulnecky on Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Fulnecky ultimately paid three years of back fees, the maximum the city could legally collect, and kept her seat after council voted to accept an outside attorney's report finding her technically ineligible but chose not to remove her. She characterised the episode as 'retaliation' and a 'witch hunt', arguing that she had not intentionally violated city rules.
Her council tenure was marked by frequent clashes with colleagues and staff, including disputes over public indecency ordinances, crime statistics and the role of 'liberal' city employees. A later News-Leader profile noted that Springfield spent nearly $100,000 (approximately £75,700) on outside legal and hearing costs tied to the eligibility fight, and that her combative style forced others on council to 'have their thinking lined up' in anticipation of objections.
In 2018, Fulnecky resigned from council after her family moved outside the city limits, ending a term that had included an unsuccessful campaign for mayor and repeated disputes over her public statements and social-media use.
In one separate case, a Springfield voter who was blocked from commenting on her Facebook page — after correcting the sourcing of a crime-ranking post — argued that his free-speech rights had been violated, pointing to emerging case law that treats officials' social media as public forums. Fulnecky maintained the page was a personal campaign account and said she blocked only abusive or graphic comments.
More recently, she has positioned herself as a high-profile opponent of Covid-era mask mandates in Missouri. In 2020, she filed lawsuits challenging mask ordinances in Springfield and later in Branson, representing local business owners who argued that the rules hurt trade and infringed on privacy rights. Branson's city attorney publicly criticised her 'prejudicial pretrial comments', accusing her of grandstanding while cases were pending.
Posted by Kristi Fulnecky on Thursday, November 28, 2024
Commenters Call Essay Controversy a 'Set-up'
Against this backdrop, some commenters now view the OU essay dispute as part of a broader political and media strategy. One X user suggested the assignment was 'definitely a setup', while a Reddit commenter in Springfield's local forum described Fulnecky's style as 'creating news when there are no repercussions' and wondered how far she is willing to 'push the envelope on ethical conduct'.
oh yeah that essay was definitely a setup lmfao
— deedee megadoodoo (@givemebudlight) December 1, 2025
Comment
by u/var23 from discussion
in springfieldMO
Others, however, have praised Samantha for 'standing up' over what they see as hostility to Christian viewpoints in academia and argue that citing scripture in a reflective assignment should be permissible, even in a psychology course.
For now, OU says its internal processes are ongoing, stressing that it is 'firmly committed to fairness, respect and protecting every student's right to express sincerely held religious beliefs' while also upholding academic standards. The broader online argument suggests that, fairly or not, Samantha Fulnecky's complaint is being interpreted not only on its own merits but through the lens of her mother's long, contentious public record.
