WHITEHOUSE, OH –The Anthony Wayne Board of Education approved a censure of board member Shellie McKnight Thursday morning after community members demanded her resignation over a social media reaction to a post about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to WTOL.
On September 15th, Anthony Wayne School Board Member Shellie McKnight addressed a crowd of reasonably concerned parents during a school board meeting, with the topical matter of issue being her purported Facebook reaction to the news of Kirk’s assassination mere days earlier. McKnight alleged that when happening upon a social media post regarding the news, she reacted with a “smiley emoji” when she intended to utilize “the compassionate emoji.”
“I pushed the smiley emoji instead of the compassionate emoji,” McKnight claimed during the meeting, adding, “It was never my intention to make light of or condone the murder of this man or any man or woman. I’m hopeful that we can move on from this distraction and do what our school board is set up to do, work on the business of quality education for all students in a safe, nurturing, learning environment.”
McKnight’s apology, or rather her explanation, on the topical issue didn’t seem to strike a chord with her critics present during the school board meeting, with calls of “liar” and “resign” reportedly emanating from the crowd following her statement.
While McKnight, and those who came to her defense during the aforementioned school board meeting, attempted to chalk up the emoji debacle to being an isolated incident, local parent Jim Schlievert stated before the school board that this latest McKnight fiasco is “one of a long list,” explaining how McKnight has inflammatory posts dating back years.
“That’s another fabrication. Just, it’s one of a long list,” Schlievert stated, adding, “One time is an event. It’s a mistake. Several of these, through the years that you heard tonight, it’s a pattern. It’s a lack of character.”
McKnight’s social media activity in regard to her disdain for elected Republicans and their constituents isn’t an unfamiliar tale, insofar that she’s like the countless other progressives who’ve made their entire online identity about loathing President Donald Trump and characterizing his supporters as cultish.
While McKnight’s personal X (formerly Twitter) account is privated, Law Enforcement Today received screenshot examples of her rhetoric shared on the platform, with such sentiments as, “Republicans are indeed the deplorables that Hillary stated so astutely,” and how congresswoman Lauren Boebert “should be left on a mountain in her home state, left to starve or eaten by mountain lions.”
Moving on to McKnight’s Facebook activity which has parents from the school district rightfully concerned, she’s openly stated that President Trump “needs to be wiped off the face of the earth,” as well as parroting the slogan “8647,” which many have perceived to be a covert endorsement of assassinating the president. Furthermore, McKnight apparently is so steadfast in her support of abortion that she believes any laws limiting or restricting the practice should be openly defied.
It’s posts such as the above featured that provided the fodder for Schlievert’s statements made before the school board earlier in September, where the parent emphasized, “This isn't about a difference of ideas, which we have a great difference, it's about a continual pattern of misbehavior on her part. The behaviors she's exhibited in the last couple of years on her social pages, in public, in regards to these things and how she tries to obfuscate what's happened, it's not conduct that represents what Anthony Wayne values are.”
The Board also accepted McKnight's resignation, which she said she proposed for personal reasons.
She faced the calls to resign from her position on the board after admitting to using the “smiley emoji” reaction on a Facebook post pertaining to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, with the school board member claiming the Facebook reaction she used on the platform was accidental.On September 15th, Anthony Wayne School Board Member Shellie McKnight addressed a crowd of reasonably concerned parents during a school board meeting, with the topical matter of issue being her purported Facebook reaction to the news of Kirk’s assassination mere days earlier. McKnight alleged that when happening upon a social media post regarding the news, she reacted with a “smiley emoji” when she intended to utilize “the compassionate emoji.”
“I pushed the smiley emoji instead of the compassionate emoji,” McKnight claimed during the meeting, adding, “It was never my intention to make light of or condone the murder of this man or any man or woman. I’m hopeful that we can move on from this distraction and do what our school board is set up to do, work on the business of quality education for all students in a safe, nurturing, learning environment.”
McKnight’s apology, or rather her explanation, on the topical issue didn’t seem to strike a chord with her critics present during the school board meeting, with calls of “liar” and “resign” reportedly emanating from the crowd following her statement.
While McKnight, and those who came to her defense during the aforementioned school board meeting, attempted to chalk up the emoji debacle to being an isolated incident, local parent Jim Schlievert stated before the school board that this latest McKnight fiasco is “one of a long list,” explaining how McKnight has inflammatory posts dating back years.
“That’s another fabrication. Just, it’s one of a long list,” Schlievert stated, adding, “One time is an event. It’s a mistake. Several of these, through the years that you heard tonight, it’s a pattern. It’s a lack of character.”
McKnight’s social media activity in regard to her disdain for elected Republicans and their constituents isn’t an unfamiliar tale, insofar that she’s like the countless other progressives who’ve made their entire online identity about loathing President Donald Trump and characterizing his supporters as cultish.
While McKnight’s personal X (formerly Twitter) account is privated, Law Enforcement Today received screenshot examples of her rhetoric shared on the platform, with such sentiments as, “Republicans are indeed the deplorables that Hillary stated so astutely,” and how congresswoman Lauren Boebert “should be left on a mountain in her home state, left to starve or eaten by mountain lions.”
Moving on to McKnight’s Facebook activity which has parents from the school district rightfully concerned, she’s openly stated that President Trump “needs to be wiped off the face of the earth,” as well as parroting the slogan “8647,” which many have perceived to be a covert endorsement of assassinating the president. Furthermore, McKnight apparently is so steadfast in her support of abortion that she believes any laws limiting or restricting the practice should be openly defied.
It’s posts such as the above featured that provided the fodder for Schlievert’s statements made before the school board earlier in September, where the parent emphasized, “This isn't about a difference of ideas, which we have a great difference, it's about a continual pattern of misbehavior on her part. The behaviors she's exhibited in the last couple of years on her social pages, in public, in regards to these things and how she tries to obfuscate what's happened, it's not conduct that represents what Anthony Wayne values are.”
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Comments
2025-09-19T20:28-0400 | Comment by: James
Yeah right! She could have instantly change it but did not! Don't believe her!
2025-09-20T05:16-0400 | Comment by: arthur
Someone like this should in no capacity be teaching kids of any grade level, period...
2025-09-20T11:47-0400 | Comment by: Michael
Oh so she clicked on the “smiley emoji” when she intended to utilize “the compassionate emoji.”? Easy fix. Just immediately click the other emoji and it will be replaced! Yeah, she meant exactly what she did. Typical Leftist. Do something, catch backlash, then lie that you didn't mean it, blah, blah. I'd have more respect if you stood by your convictions, but not much more, since I believe Leftism to be a mental/spiritual issue.
2025-09-20T19:51-0400 | Comment by: Raconteur
The "progressives", "leftists", Marxists, Antifa, whatever they are calling themselves this month, have become so entrenched in the education system that they feel immune to the consequences of their actions. They will display their arrogance for all to see and dare anyone to defy them. Since the 1960's they have been infiltrating the education system and have been very successful at it. Their arrogance and the underestimation of the conservative movement, may well prove their downfall. It will take a major reintroduction of conservative values into the entire education system, from K-12 and through the universities. It's been decades in the infiltration. It will take decades to undo. As Lenin said, “Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”