Homer City school board member threatened after misunderstood Facebook post

An ill-timed Facebook post misconstrued to be celebrating Republican influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination prompted death threats against a Homer City school board member and spurred 60 people to attend a board meeting this week.

“One down, hundreds to go,” Misty Hunt posted Sept. 10 on Facebook.

The words were meant to be a caption for a video of milkweed seeds being blown by the wind. But the video didn’t upload because of sketchy reception around the former Homer City power plant. Hunt said was not aware of what happened to Kirk until that night.

Instead, she was celebrating the beauty of nature and spreading milkweed seed pods to help monarch butterfly larvae.

“It was only about butterflies and creating a space for them. The end,” Hunt posted on Facebook. “Gardening is my life. And I tried to share it with all of you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Hunt explained the misunderstanding in several Facebook posts. After reflecting about what happened to Kirk, she made this post on Sept. 13:

”We must condemn political violence in all its forms. Whether it happens here or abroad, to someone we agree with or someone we don’t, murder is not activism. Violence is not a solution. Silencing people through fear only deepens the wounds in our society.

“It’s time we remember that every person is more than their politics—they’re someone’s family, someone’s friend, someone’s future.

“We can debate fiercely. We can protest passionately. But we must never let hatred drive us to justify the taking of a life.

“Stand for justice. Stand for peace. Stand for humanity.”

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think a community whom I believed in and fought for would paint me in such a vile light,” Hunt posted on Sept. 16, after she received death threats.

She also addressed what happened on Thursday, when a school board meeting was moved to the high school gym with law enforcement providing security because of the interest, and death threats, the post generated, according to the Indiana Gazette.

What normally is a sparsely attended affair drew a crowd of 60 people.

“It was simply the wrong post at the wrong time,” Hunt said at the meeting, according to the Gazette.

She didn’t immediately respond to messages from TribLive seeking comment.

“I cannot undo the damage, but I can promise to do better and continue to serve all of you to the best of my ability,” she said.

She’s stepping back from the board and won’t participate in meetings until after the November election where she is seeking another term, the Gazette reported.

Hunt abstained from all votes during the meeting, which she said was at the request of her fellow board members and district administration.