Free Speech or Poor Taste? RTC’s Charlie Kirk Scarecrow Stirs Political Tensions in Wilton’s Family Halloween Tradition

While Halloween is meant to bring playfully spooky frights, one of the scarecrows decorating the lampposts along River Rd. in Wilton Center has instead sparked a political fight — becoming a lightning rod for controversy in Wilton’s annual celebration of the holiday.

The display has drawn complaints from residents, some of whom have voiced their concerns to town officials, event organizers, and even Wilton’s largest corporate citizen, about what they say is a divisive symbol in an otherwise family-oriented celebration.

As a participant in the Wilton Chamber of Commerce‘s annual Scarecrow Fest, the Wilton Republican Town Committee created a scarecrow that some felt was the last straw in poor taste but others have seen as a reflection of the same kind of free speech championed by the person to whom it pays tribute.

Charlie Kirk, the controversial evangelical Christian, conservative political activist who was assassinated last month, is standing in scarecrow effigy on River Rd., replete with an American flag crucifix, an American flag hat and, previously, a MAGA hat.

The RTC’s entry has widened a political rift in the last weeks of Election 2025, during an annual event typically marketed as a family-focused, community-unifying showcase.

The two-week Scarecrow Fest sets the backdrop for the Chamber’s other Halloween event, the Wilton Center Trick-or-Treating and Pumpkin Parade that took place Saturday afternoon, Oct. 25.

“Over 100 people have told me they are appalled by the RTC’s choice to showcase Charlie Kirk in Wilton’s child-oriented scarecrow contest,” Tom Dubin, chair of the Wilton Democratic Town Committee, said this weekend.

“Kirk was silver tongued and telegenic, and of course he should not have been shot,” Dubin said. “At the same time, anyone can Google the litany of Kirk’s statements that were racist, Antisemitic … misogynist, Islamophobic, homophobic and anti-immigrant. Further, he stood for a Christian nationalism that denies American legitimacy to anyone who doesn’t practice his version of Christianity.”

“I don’t believe that all Wilton Republicans share Kirk’s views by association, but it is always telling who a group chooses as its heroes,” he said. “The RTC’s decision to showcase Charlie Kirk in a town-wide children’s activity speaks loudly about the extremist and intolerant takeover of the Republican party, even in Wilton.”

Peter Wrampe, chair of the RTC, stood by his party’s scarecrow.

“We made the Charlie Kirk scarecrow in the same neighborly spirit as all the others,” Wrampe said, “to reflect the diversity of people and perspectives that make Wilton what it is.”

“Charlie Kirk spent his life encouraging civic engagement and open conversation over hostility,” Wrampe said, “and sadly, he lost his life to political violence. Remembering him this way is a small reminder that we can disagree passionately and still treat one another with decency.”

“And if a scarecrow can nudge us toward a little more grace and understanding, that feels very much in the spirit of this festival,” Wrampe said.

Derisive? Or Diverse?

Democratic Planning and Zoning Commissioner Ken Hoffman, who is running for reelection this fall, issued a public statement Saturday voicing his “outrage and anger” about the scarecrow.

“This is a blatantly political statement in the poorest taste,” Hoffman wrote in an email Saturday evening that he sent to Board of Selectmen members, clergy leaders and several others, including the Wilton Chamber of Commerce and ASML, the marquee sponsor of the event.

After condemning political assassination, Hoffman went on to say that “Kirk also made racist, homophobic and political statements that are reprehensible and disgusting” and that the RTC effigy “ignores that Charlie Kirk is a derisive figure who has said revolting things about many Americans (liberal, gay, and Jewish Americans are patriotic Americans as well).”

“The Chamber of Commerce and its sponsor, ASML, copied here, should have never allowed this to be displayed,” Hoffman wrote.

Hoffman noted that he has grown children who serve in the military and have put themselves at risk to preserve free speech. “But, a sponsored event by ASML, focused primarily on children, is not a forum for unfettered free speech,” he wrote.

“Any of you who sponsored this event and allowed this effigy within your rules should be ashamed of yourselves,” Hoffman wrote. “Using national politics to spread hate in Wilton is bluntly disgusting. You owe us all an apology.”

While the Wilton Chamber of Commerce is the lead organizer of the event in partnership with ASML, the Town of Wilton and the Wilton Historical Society are also listed as main sponsors.

The Wilton Chamber of Commerce did not respond to multiple requests for comment from GOOD Morning Wilton.

[Update: Wilton Historical Society Executive Director Nick Foster said he did not receive any requests for comment and sent a statement Tuesday morning, Oct. 28: “The Wilton Historical Society’s involvement as a sponsor of the annual Scarecrow Fest is limited to acting as a convenient and central location to pick up the scarecrow kits and for participants to drop off their completed scarecrows before they are installed in Wilton Center.”

A spokesperson for ASML, however, did provide a comment to GMW.

“ASML contributes to the Wilton community by sponsoring and supporting many local events,” they said, noting that no one in the company reviewed the design proposals for the event, letting the Chamber of Commerce handle all the logistics.

“Our funding is intended to support programs that strengthen the communities in which we operate,” the spokesperson said. “We are confident this event will continue to do so for years to come.”

First Selectman Toni Boucher, a Republican, also shared her thoughts.

“I am not a member of the RTC in Wilton and have not seen the scarecrows in question,” she said. “However, someone did complain to me about this. I told them that the Wilton Chamber of Commerce conducts and approves the scarecrow displays in Wilton. It appears they must have contacted the Chamber since that scarecrow is no longer on display.”

“It is my hope that this popular fall display continues to be neutral, inclusive and non political in nature,” Boucher said. “When I assumed this role as First Selectman for all the residents I made it known to everyone that I had taken my political hat off and only wear a Town of Wilton hat.”

Despite the Town’s participation as a sponsor and Boucher’s belief that the scarecrow had been taken down, it was still standing as of Sunday, Oct. 26.

According to Dubin, the Chamber of Commerce asked the RTC to remove the MAGA hat and a bullhorn that the scarecrow originally was sporting, but they were “replaced with a cross embossed with an American flag,” and an American flag hat.

“I’m not sure what the Chamber or anyone else believe that addressed,” Dubin said. “Even those who align with Kirk certainly recognize that he is polarizing regardless of how he is accessorized.”

Dubin said that several years ago the Chamber of Commerce considered a scarecrow sponsored by the DTC “too political” because it “subtly referenced reproductive rights on a stick pin,” and the political organization made changes at the behest of the Chamber.

Dubin found it “shocking” that the RTC was not, likewise, cautioned.

“The RTC is showcasing one of the most politically and socially divisive personalities of the last decade; we’re showcasing a donkey,” Dubin said of the DTC’s scarecrow this year. “Perhaps in the future the Chamber should simply prohibit both parties from participating,” Dubin said.

GOOD Morning Wilton reached out to candidates running on the RTC and DTC slates for the top four town boards and commissions (Selectmen, Finance, Education, and Planning and Zoning).

Matt Raimondi, BOF chair and a Republican candidate seeking reelection to that board, was the only GOP candidate to respond directly to GOOD Morning Wilton.

“I have no comment,” Raimondi said. “My understanding is that the RTC will be issuing a statement.”

Aside from Hoffman, BOS candidate David Tatkow was the only other Democrat to respond. “My preference is to not comment on this subject separately from the Wilton DTC’s communication,” Tatkow said.

Early Monday afternoon, Wrampe sent a sharp response to Hoffman in a message also copied to the recipients of the Democrat’s original email, criticizing his “misguided demand” that “shows how quickly outrage can replace judgment.”

“It’s particularly concerning coming from a member of Wilton’s Planning and Zoning [Commission] — the very body whose decisions directly impact ASML, a global technology leader and one of our town’s most supportive corporate citizens,” Wrampe wrote. “ASML deserves appreciation for its continued investment in Wilton, not public scorn,”

Wrampe laid the blame on Hoffman for making the situation political.

“The Festival has always been a celebration of creativity and community, neighbors expressing themselves in ways that make people smile, think, and come together. That’s something to be proud of, not something to turn into another political argument,” he wrote, adding that the Charlie Kirk scarecrow represents “diversity… about ideas,” and that in the face of disagreement, one should “[show] grace when we encounter something that challenges us.

“Outrage is easy; empathy is harder,” Wrampe added.

Public Response

Multiple residents reached out to GMW to say they were unhappy with the RTC’s scarecrow choice.

One who did not want to be quoted by name, wrote in an email that she found the Kirk scarecrow “concerning.”

“Given his record of promoting divisive and harmful rhetoric toward women and minorities, it feels inappropriate — especially for what’s meant to be a family-friendly community event,” she wrote.

Resident Matt Brand had been relieved that polarized national politics of the last decade wasn’t a part of Wilton — but said this scarecrow may have changed that.

“What I’ve appreciated about Wilton Republicans is that, by and large, they have managed to avoid the toxic culture wars that inflame emotions but distract from real issues… The decision to create a scarecrow in the likeness of Charlie Kirk seems to mark an end to that era,” Brand wrote. 

Brand — who said that it was true to acknowledge at the same time that “Kirk’s assassination was a tragedy, and many of his positions were racist, Antisemitic, and extremely offensive” — didn’t understand what message the Wilton Republicans were trying to send.

“That they stand for what Charlie Kirk stood for? Was the large cross around its neck meant to imply that Wilton Republicans are Christian, and don’t tolerate Jews, Muslims, etc. (whatever happened [to] the separation of church and state?) Or was it a statement about political violence?” he wrote. 

Wilton resident Russell Robbins said he found the episode “disturbing on many levels,” especially as someone whose family fled Europe during World War II. He shared a letter he wrote to the Chamber of Commerce asking why the organization didn’t make the RTC change its “offensive and exclusionary” entry.

“It sends a very bad message about what our town is and strives to be. Unless of course, this is the type of message the Chamber supports. Please confirm your position and why you allowed it. I have lived here over 20 years and thought we were finally getting past some of the old issues. Apparently not,” Robbins wrote. 

Wilton resident Josh Kesselman offered a mixed reaction to the scarecrow, even though he said he mostly disagreed with Charlie Kirk.

“I do not believe this was done in an effort to exclude anybody,” Kesselman said, “but instead in an effort to honor someone valued by the [organization] presenting the scarecrow.”

“It is my belief that as long as the scarecrows are not intended to offend and are within good enough taste that … most parents would not be afraid to show it to their elementary school child, then [organizations] should be able to put up whatever they want,” he said, adding that he wondered if the Chamber issued a guide for what is acceptable for the event.

Kesselman added that he saw it as more of a free speech issue rather than one of church and state.

“Say what you want in public and if some agree or disagree with your speech, they can choose to support you or not,” he wrote.

The scarecrow contest, which was limited to 50 participants, runs from Oct. 15-31. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative, best traditional, and best Wilton themed scarecrows. Each winner will receive a $150 Chamber of Commerce gift certificate.