A St. Joseph, Missouri third-grade teacher is now claiming a Heartlander story on his profane social media posts is “a politically motivated attack.”
The Heartlander reported Jan. 27 that Dakota Allen had posted profane anti-ICE remarks on social media, saying “Fuck ICE” and referring to “Nazi scum.”
The Heartlander also reported that a man in an online video who appears to also be the Lindbergh Accelerated Elementary School teacher can be heard with a megaphone having chanted “86, 47” at a rally – which is widely considered code for suggesting President Trump be assassinated.
In a Jan. 10 post, he writes of another anti-government rally, “#ICEOutForGood in KCMO today. A beautiful demonstration of solidarity and peace for a better tomorrow,” and includes a photograph of a large flag saying “FUCK TRUMP.”
In a story by St. Joseph television station KQTV Sunday, Allen doesn’t deny either the posts or the video chants, but blames The Heartlander for what the station called “a politically motivated attack” on him.
“My choice of language in my posts is intentional,” the station quotes him, “and reserved for a space that is legally restricted for minors under the age of 14 in our state.”
As for the 86, 47 chant, Allen told the station it merely means removing something, such as a menu item at a restaurant.
In truth, there is a common understanding of the term that also means to kill, which some listeners might subscribe to regardless of Allen’s intended meaning – which calls into question why Allen would want to be associated with the term.
“These were opinion pieces designed to attack,” Allen said of The Heartlander’s stories on his posts.
A St. Joseph School District spokesperson told The Heartlander in a Jan. 28 email that “since this is a personnel matter I cannot share details of next steps or any outcome with you but please know that we will look into this matter and address it in accordance with the requirements of Board Policy and the law.”
Nonetheless, The Heartlander Monday asked the district for an update on the situation.
Additionally, given that the KQTV story referred to Allen with the plural pronouns “they” and “themselves,” The Heartlander asked the spokesperson whether the district condones the use of third-person plural pronouns for Allen or other individuals in the district’s classrooms and, if so, whether that would be highly confusing to children who are just now learning grammar.
