Public library employee fired after accusations of conservative book burning

A Black Lives Matter activist and staffer at the Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee was recently fired after removing, then allegedly burning books by former President Trump and by conservative pundit Ann Coulter.

Staffer Cameron Williams was reportedly asked to clear shelves late last year that contained any old, damaged or untruthful books. He apparently removed Coulter's "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" and Trump’s "Crippled America," then posted video on social media of him pouring lighter fluid on burning book, resulting in a suspension in December and being fired in February.

"It's our job to ensure that all walks of life have access to information without judgment or prejudice," a library spokesperson told Times Free Press in Chattanooga. "Whether these materials were actually destroyed in a fire or even if they were just removed, that does go against our policy. Because at the end of the day, we believe that censorship has no place in a library."

Williams – also arrested last summer for his participation in the Black Lives Matter demonstrations – told The Washington Post he's being he punished for speaking out for the betterment of the black community.

"I was treated as a token black man,” he said. “But as soon as I speak forcefully for black people, they essentially tried to assassinate my character.”