Killary Clinton

Three Ohio high school students created a PAC called "Killary Clinton." Then the trouble started.

(File photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Don't be alarmed by the name "Killary Clinton."

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign doesn't seem worried, despite the sinister name. Neither does the Department of Homeland Security, apparently. "Killary Clinton," the name of a new political action committee based in a rural community east of Columbus, Ohio, appears to be benign.

Yet there is trouble over that name.

That's because the "Killary Clinton" PAC was not the creation of an anti-Clinton political operative. Rather, it was created by three high school juniors in Pataskala who learned in their government class that it is easy to establish a PAC by filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, or FEC.

All honor-roll students, they were inspired by their classroom lesson, and impressed that a classmate filed papers with the FEC to set up a different PAC, which he named "Better America for Tomorrow." That teen, 17-year-old Cory Steer, said he hopes to use his new super PAC to raise money to support Marco Rubio, who's running for the Republican presidential nomination.

So what's the deal with the other students and the name "Killary Clinton?"

They picked the name because they're not fans of Hillary Clinton, the front-runner in the Democratic nominating contest for president. "We just did it for the heck of it," said one of the PAC's creators. After learning about PACs in government class and seeing their classmate create Better America for Tomorrow, "we thought it was cool so we all talked about it."

Authorities might normally cheer students who take this level of interest in government and public affairs. Young voter engagement has fallen, according to a national survey of millennials conducted by Harvard's Institute of Politics, yet here were pre-voting-age students whose teacher gave them a real-life lesson so inspiring that they engaged.

Now they wish they hadn't.

"Killary" sounded funny, but it has a menacing ring to it. It is also a name that some critics use for Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state.

Some Clinton critics have established "Killary" Facebook and Instagram pages with graphic images and vulgar language. Another PAC was set up in Las Vegas called "It's about Killary," although the founder told the FEC in a filing that "Killary is a fictional character."

The Ohio juniors appear to have had nothing to do with those people, pages and causes, which were created well before the students filed to start their PAC on Nov. 17. The students merely set up their PAC, and created a Twitter account to go with it.

But the name apparently did not sit well with authorities.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is the umbrella department over the Secret Service, came to Pataskala and asked questions. Its inquiry seems to have been along the lines of "just checking it out," although a spokeswoman said the department probably would not be able to answer more specific questions (and has not responded to those questions).

But the school principal asked questions, too.

All indications are that the principal -- who, like the students' government teacher, has not responded to a request for an interview -- just wanted to make sure his school and students weren't doing anything improper. The name "Killary" is not politically correct, and it certainly prompted notice from those who saw the FEC filing. It could not be determined, though, whether school officials thought the name implied a threat, however jokingly, which might violate the school district's code of conduct.

As best as can be determined, the students have broken no laws. But a summons to the principal's office triggered the end of external communication about the PAC. As one student told cleveland.com in an email, "We all try to be good students and this is not reflecting positively on us, so I hope you can understand."

Cleveland.com is not naming the students. They have learned a lot -- about government, about words and names, and about politics -- nationally and at the school level. Word in Pataskala is that the students are not in any real trouble. They just ruffled some feathers.

But they may be considering sending a new filing to the FEC, according to one source. (Note to school: It is not any of the three students.) This filing would say they have shut down the PAC.