A public school teacher from Indiana has resigned after wearing a shirt with political overtones calling for the removal of President Donald Trump during a middle school field trip to Washington, D.C.

As GOP USA reported, formerly employed by Middlebury Community Schools (MCS), was photographed wearing a shirt displaying the numbers “8647” while standing in front of the White House.

The image was posted to social media but has since been deleted. The shirt’s message, “8647,” is widely interpreted to mean “eliminate” (a slang definition for “86”), “President 47,” referring to Trump.

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The number gained national attention in 2023 when former FBI Director James Comey posted it online, prompting a federal investigation into its meaning and implications.

When contacted by The Center Square, Luken declined to elaborate on the matter, saying:

“I do not think that would be beneficial for anyone.”

She also claimed that the trip in question was not school-sponsored, citing language in the registration form. However, school board meeting records indicate that field trips are subject to annual review by the Middlebury school board.

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In response to the incident, MCS issued a public statement reaffirming its policy on political neutrality by educators during school functions.

Meet Tonja Luken, a teacher at @MiddleburyComm1 in Indiana. She reportedly wore an “8647” shirt on a school trip to Washington, DC.

Why is a school teacher promoting the ass*ssination of a President, on a school trip with students, in front of the White House??

Any comment… pic.twitter.com/uv6XWtmC2R

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 4, 2025

“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.

MCS clarified that school policy “requires teachers to refrain from using their position to promote partisan political views,” regardless of the content or political affiliation of the message.

Superintendent Jason Snyder confirmed that Luken is no longer employed by the district and directed inquiries to the public statement, which detailed the timeline of events.

According to the district, once Luken was informed that termination proceedings were being initiated, she submitted her immediate resignation.

“Earlier today, Middlebury Community Schools completed its investigation into circumstances surrounding a teacher’s social media post,” the statement read.

“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 also noted that public school termination procedures can vary in length but emphasized that employees may resign at any time.

Erika Sanzi, director of outreach at nonprofit Defending Education, criticized Luken’s decision to wear the shirt in a professional capacity.

“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 told The Center Square.

“While we can’t know the details of a personnel matter, suffice it to say that the teacher showed extremely poor judgment in a professional setting, in front of a captive audience of other people’s children,” Sanzi added.

Defending Education, according to its website, works to expose political indoctrination in schools through reporting and legal action.

In the viral image, Luken was accompanied by another individual wearing a rainbow-themed “be kind” shirt. MCS has not commented on the second individual.

The school district has made clear that the policy prohibiting partisan messages applies to all teachers, without exception.

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