Missouri mayor calls for resignation of school board member who called conservatives ‘Nazi f***s’

The mayor pro tem of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, has called on a local school board member to step down after the member called conservatives “Nazi f***s” in a social media post.

Excelsior…

The mayor pro tem of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, has called on a local school board member to step down after the member called conservatives “Nazi f***s” in a social media post.

Excelsior Springs school board member Troy Snelling subsequently announced on Friday that he would give up his seat on Monday, citing “death threats.”

The Lion tried to substantiate with Snelling the exact nature of the threats or whether police reports were subsequently filed.

“Our local paper is on it. We have an important local levy issue in April and I just want this to go away,” Snelling told The Lion via text message. “I’m sorry but our kids are more important than anything regarding me. The people who attacked me are getting tremendous backlash. I have received no threats since announcing my resignation.”

When pressed if he had filed police reports about the threats or had evidence of the threats, Snelling refused to answer.

“On Monday I will resign my position on the Board of Education after an unending series of attacks, threats of violence and even death threats,” said Snelling in his resignation via a Facebook post that was not available on his public profile. “This is being pushed by an Excelsior Springs City Councilman and his minion at the Standard. No one [from the Excelsior Springs Standard], for the record, has reached out to me for my side of the story.” 

The post was later verified by the Excelsior Citizen as authentic.  

Snelling previously compared Trump immigration policies to the “fourth reich” (sic), warning if we resist [Trump immigration policies] he [Trump] will send the Proud Boys he says he is going to give some sort of authority to beat or kill us,” according to the Excelsior Citizen. 

Snelling also called on the board of education to stop immigration officials from arresting people on district property, writing, “If our district allows this on our property I will resign my board seat. We own our property.” 

Excelsior Springs Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Spear and other citizens immediately called on Snelling to resign after he posted the comments to Facebook. 

The petition started by Spear calling for Snelling’s resignation at Change.org had collected 262 verified signatures, after Snelling was reelected to the board with just 516 votes in November. 

The petition questioned whether Snelling could represent all the citizens of the district objectively in light of his comments. 

“Representation on the school board should reflect all stakeholders within our community and meet the ethical standards we associate with the education and development of our children. When these standards are not met by those in influential positions, action must be taken,” said the petition. 

Others expressed concern about Snelling making decisions for the kids in the district and warned they’d pursue legal action with state authorities if Snelling didn’t step down.  

“Honestly, I feel so discouraged and disappointed,” Excelsior Springs resident Kelly Adair told the Excelsior Springs Standard. “Freedom of speech exists, but it still has consequences. Especially when one has taken an oath of office. I’m extremely concerned that this individual is responsible for making decisions for my child, or any children for that matter. If our district will not address this issue, we will take our concerns to the attorney general’s office.” 

The partisan comments also break the pledge that Snelling himself made when running for the school board. 

He told the Excelsior Citizen in 2022, when he first ran for the school board, that he had previously volunteered for political campaigns but that he wasn’t cut out for politics because of the polarizing climate. 

“I like the school board thing because it’s not partisan, it’s not something where there are egos involved. We don’t get paid, so you know it’s not about the money. It’s a group of people trying to do the right thing, doing what’s right for the community and the kids,” he said.  

Snelling also made comments at that time that could explain his obsession with Nazis and authoritarianism. 

He was a history teacher in the district for 28 years, teaching at the local high school.  

His fascination with history started because his grandfather fought the Germans in World War I and his father also fought the Germans in World War II, Snelling told the Citizen.  

“I was the only 5-year-old in Excelsior Springs who could tell you who the Kaiser was,” he said about the former German emperor, who led the coalition against the Allies in World War I. 

Spear noted in his petition to remove Snelling from office that he was acting as a private citizen, not just as mayor.  

“This is not just an official request—it’s a deeply personal plea,” said Spear’s petition.