'I ain't gonna be 'suiciding myself' no time soon'
Harry Potter and
Twilight were among the books that have been destroyed by a Tennessee pastor during a recent book burning event.
The incident took place on February 2 when pastor and pro-Trump supporter Greg Locke organised a book burning - something synonymous with darker times in the world's history - following the news of a book banning in McMinn County, Tennessee.
In late January, officials in the county moved to remove a much-loved graphic novel from schools in the area.
Maus tells the story of the holocaust via anthropomorphic mice and cats but was swiftly removed from schools on a permanent basis thanks to its use of swear words and nudity.
It was an event that since went viral on social media.
Reacting to this news, Locke - who is the pastor of Mt. Juliet - took things further by arranging his own book burning event, targeting the likes of J.K Rowling's ever-popular boy wizard series and Stephenie Meyer's young-adult vampire series in the process.
Speaking to attendees, pastor Locke is reported to have said: "I ain't gonna be 'suiciding myself' no time soon," after discussing recent run-ins with what he described as "Free Mason devils."
The pastor continued to suggest that viewers weren't mad at the act of burning books but instead at the choice of the texts they were destroying - implying that any critics of his book burning were in fact supporters of the devil and witchcraft.
Locke even streamed the event on Facebook live, which you can see below.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=646473060002596
According to attendees, one counterprotestor was in attendance who proceeded to throw his own book in to the flames - one that was reportedly a copy of the bible.
He continued to hold up copies of
Fahrenheit 451 and
On the Origin of Species.
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