A Missouri school board president is under fire after posting the cryptic number 8647 on social media, a sequence many conservatives view as coded language urging the assassination of President Donald Trump.
The controversy erupted when Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., highlighted the post on X by Judy Moticka, president of the Kirkwood, Missouri, school board. According to WND, Schmitt wrote: Nothing to see here just the President of the Kirkwood, MO school board Judy Moticka calling for the murder of the President of the United States.
Schmitt added that the incident has been met with media silence and indifference from the left. No news coverage about it. Just the casual acceptance of the Luigi Lefts assassination culture, he said, using a phrase that has become shorthand among some conservatives for radicalized progressives.
The Luigi Left label refers to those on the political Left who support Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down in New York City in December 2024. For critics, that case has become emblematic of a broader culture of political violence that they say is too often excused or downplayed when it targets figures on the right.
Moticka did not explicitly use words such as kill or murder in relation to Trump, but her use of 8647 has raised alarms. The number is widely interpreted in conservative circles as a call to 86 or eliminate the 47th president, a veiled threat that many see as beyond the bounds of protected political speech.
The uproar comes as former FBI Director James Comey faces legal jeopardy for his own use of the same numerals in a now-infamous Instagram post featuring a seashell and the digits 8647. Federal prosecutors say the post is a serious expression of an intent to do harm to Trump, and Comey faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The term 86 does not list killing among its formal dictionary definitions, which typically include meanings such as to reject, dismiss or remove someone. Nonetheless, in common slang and in restaurant and bar culture, 86 has long carried the connotation of getting rid of something or someone, a nuance that fuels concern when paired with a sitting or former president.
Motickas own biography on the Kirkwood district website paints a very different picture of her public persona. It states: In her personal and professional life, and in volunteer service, she has focused on children protecting them, empowering them, supporting them.
That contrast was not lost on conservative commentator Jim Hoft of the Gateway Pundit, who blasted the school board leaders post. Hoft remarked: She says she wants to protect kids by calling for the assassination of the president!
Schmitts post on X drew a flood of responses from concerned parents and citizens demanding accountability. One commenter warned: Judy Moticka is around our children and in our community in Kirkwood MO. She needs to be investigated immediately. She needs to be removed from our Kirkwood school board. Our children and communities safety is all that matters.
Others insisted that mere removal from office would be insufficient given the gravity of the alleged message. A visit to this idiot by the US SS and her being kicked off the school board is not enough. She needs to lose whatever job she has and be arrested for promoting the death of a US President, one user declared.
Some respondents challenged those downplaying the significance of the 86 reference, arguing that the standard should be consistent regardless of the target. Just to be clear, for the supporters on here saying 86 isnt big deal, and get over it; what if someone said 86 your wife, 86 your child? Get the same feels, or no? a commenter asked pointedly.
Another user claimed Motickas attitude reflects a broader ideological problem within the local education establishment. I have news for you, and I had two graduate from Kirkwood, she isnt alone. The entire administration at the high school have been doing this stuff since Hands up dont shoot lies were spewed. Id tell you whos behind it but I dont need that headache. Love the school, despised the administration, the person wrote.
Not everyone agreed that Motickas post crossed a legal line, with some invoking free-speech protections. One defender insisted: School board President Judy Motickas post and 8647 is protected under the 1st Amendment!
Progressive voices also mocked conservatives for objecting to the message, dismissing their concerns as overblown. Republican snowflakes are just sad. They lose their [excitement] when dear leader is insulted so they go on a hyperbole trip thatd make any blue-haired liberal look reasonable, one critic sneered.
The clash over Motickas post underscores a deeper national divide over political rhetoric, public safety, and the ideological capture of local institutions such as school boards. As federal prosecutors pursue the Comey case and parents in Kirkwood demand answers, the debate over whether 8647 is protected speech or a dangerous incitement is likely to intensify, especially among conservatives who see a double standard whenever threats are aimed at Trump and his supporters.
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