A Tennessee librarian has lost his job after allegedly burning copies of books by Donald Trump and rightwing commentator Ann Coulter.
The Chattanooga public library dismissed Cameron Dequintez Williams after he allegedly posted videos of himself in his backyard in December pouring lighter fluid over Coulter’s How to Talk to Liberals (If You Must) and Trump’s Crippled America.
Documents from a local council meeting suggest Williams live-streamed himself in the act, while local reports suggest the sound of the popular anti-Trump anthem FDT played in the background.
Williams, a Black Lives Matter protester, said he has been unfairly treated, and that he was simply following a library instruction to remove any “old, damaged or untruthful books”.
The library does have a “weeding” policy for the removal of certain books from circulation. But it says Trump and Coulter’s books do not meet that criteria.
“The items in question that were featured in the video were not flagged for removal. We have a very rigorous and thorough standard practice for collection management. And it’s part of the American Library Association, so it’s something all libraries follow,” a library spokesperson said in December when the allegations arose.
“Cameron has been trained on this,” the spokesperson said.
The library said the decision to terminate Williams was made after an investigation found he improperly removed the items from the library.
“The city of Chattanooga has policies in place to protect the public’s interest, and we follow those directives,” said library executive director Corinne Hill.
Williams was arrested last summer during the protests following George Floyd’s death for allegedly blocking an emergency vehicle during the demonstrations. He said the library was targeting because of his race. “I was treated as a token Black man,” he told the Washington Post. “But as soon as I speak forcefully for Black people, they essentially tried to assassinate my character.”
The librarysaid last year that Williams’ alleged behavior constituted censorship and had no place in a library.
“It’s our job to ensure that all walks of life have access to information without judgment or prejudice … Whether these materials were actually destroyed in a fire or even if they were just removed, that does go against our policy,” the spokesperson said then.
“Because at the end of the day, we believe that censorship has no place in a library.”
