(RightWing.org) – In the last few years, there’s been a push to protect the public, particularly underage children, from having easy access to inappropriate materials. In some instances, state and local governments have enacted book bans at public and private K-12 school classrooms and libraries. Controversy recently swelled over a planned public book burning at an upcoming rally later this year.
On May 22, Right Wing Watch (RWW) pushed back on political activist and commentator Stew Peters’ call for action. The group posted a short clip of the organizer defending his call for a rally.
A statement accompanied the X/Twitter post, accusing Peters of “taking his radicalism out from behind the camera and into the real world” by announcing his decision to organize an “Extreme Accountability Event.” The left-wing group also claimed the gathering would showcase a “literal… book burning.”
Peters addressed criticisms of the event in the clip. He began by proclaiming that people accuse him and his supporters of being a “bunch of ‘book burners'” if they demand that officials cleanse school library shelves and classroom bookcases of “filth and perversion and pedophilic materials.”
Digging his heels in, the activist rhetorically asked, “Well, guess what?” Answering his own question, Peters said, “That’s exactly what we are,” and he confirmed that burning books was “exactly what [event attendees] are going to do.”
Continuing, Peters said, “The time [was] now… for the American people… to go on the march” and protest the “filth” currently on the shelves of libraries and classrooms.
The organizer also called on his supporters to gather copies of books they considered inappropriate and bring them to his event. He said they would “kill” those tomes “with fire.”
Controversy raged on X/Twitter as dozens of people posted comments on the RWW post. Several people questioned the idea of hosting a book burning in this day and age. A few responses expressed concern regarding children’s safety and support for efforts to protect school children from easy access to inappropriate materials.
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