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A public school teacher in Indiana has resigned after wearing a shirt with political messaging interpreted as violent toward President Donald Trump during a school field trip to Washington, D.C.
Tonja Luken, a former teacher with Middlebury Community Schools, appeared in a now-deleted social media post wearing a shirt displaying the numbers “8647” while posing in front of the White House. The incident occurred during the district’s annual eighth-grade trip to the nation’s capital.
The number “8647” has come to symbolize violent opposition to Trump, combining slang for “eliminate” (86) with his status as the 47th president. The phrase gained attention after a similar reference was posted online by former FBI Director James Comey, prompting strong backlash.
In a statement, the district said it expects educators to refrain from promoting partisan political views while on duty or at school-related functions.
“Our educators should not be advocating personal political views, either directly or indirectly, to our students during the school day or while supervising students at a school function,” the statement read.
“This prohibition applies to all teachers, regardless of their political leanings, and to every partisan political message, regardless of its content,” it added.
Superintendent Jason Snyder confirmed that Luken “no longer works for the school district,” adding that the resignation followed an internal investigation into the matter.
“After the conclusion of the school corporation’s interview, when informed the school corporation would be commencing the cancellation of contract, the teacher submitted her immediate resignation,” the district stated.
Middlebury Community Schools emphasized that, under state rules, termination of a public school employee involves multiple procedural steps, unless the employee chooses to resign voluntarily.
Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for the education watchdog group Defending Education, said Luken’s actions violated district policy.
“This teacher could have worn this anti-Trump shirt on her own time but instead chose to violate her own school’s policy by wearing it while chaperoning a student trip to the nation’s capital,” Sanzi said. “Her role was that of a government employee who speaks for and represents a public school district.”