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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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A MAGA commentator and personality called for his supporters to burn books, criticizing the contents of some children's books.
On X, formerly Twitter, Right Wing Watch shared a video of conservative commentator Stew Peters on The Stew Peters Network, where he talked about criticism conservatives receive for speaking out against certain books.
"If we demand that the classroom bookcases and school library shelves be cleansed of filth and perversion and pedophilic materials, then we're called a bunch of 'book burners,'" Peters said. "Well guess what? That's exactly what we are and that's exactly what we're going to do."
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"The time is now. It's time for the American people, real men, to saddle up, to go on the march. It's time to go into the public libraries, to go into these public schools and rip the filth off of these shelves and destroy it. To remove it from the face of the planet for all of eternity, to turn it to ash, and every time it's reprinted, we do it all over again."
Peters went on to call on his supporters to gather books they deem inappropriate and bring it to an event in New Jersey later this year when they will "kill it with fire."
In a further statement to Newsweek, Peters said, "Burning pornography and pro-transgenderism propaganda books being forced down our children's throats isn't radical or extreme."
"It's what normal people from 20 years ago would do. Kill it with fire," Peters told Newsweek.
The comments by Peters come as many conservatives have repeatedly criticized certain book in children's schools, saying that they promote certain ideologies, such as LGBTQ+ rights.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke out against certain books in schools across the state, prompting some to speculate that he was announcing a ban of some books. However, he issued a statement in January saying that the Florida Department of Education does not ban books, that it is up to school districts.
"After the 2023 legislative session, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 1069, which continued to strengthen Florida's commitment to parental rights in education," his office said in a statement. "The bill further outlined the process districts must create for parents and residents to have the ability to object to inappropriate materials in Florida classrooms."
A number of other Republican-led states have sought to ban certain books in schools. According to Pen America, in 2023, instances of book bans were found to be "most prevalent" in "Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina."
On the other hand, Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation last year to prohibit book bans.
"Young people shouldn't be kept from learning about the realities of our world," Pritzker said in a statement. "I want them to become critical thinkers, exposed to ideas that they disagree with, proud of what our nation has overcome, and thoughtful about what comes next."
Update, 5/23/24, 7:02 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with a comment from Stew Peters.
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