Local activist and musician Cameron “C-Grimey” Williams is under investigation for allegedly burning Chattanooga Public Library books by conservative authors.
Williams, a local rapper and activist known for his role organizing protests against police brutality, was placed on paid administrative leave from his job as a library services coordinator this week after video surfaced of him apparently burning books by President Donald Trump and conservative commentator Ann Coulter, according to a spokesperson for the library.
In a video posted temporarily on Instagram on Tuesday, Williams appeared to burn copies of Coulter’s “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)” and Trump’s “Crippled America” in an outdoor fire, spraying each with lighter fluid. “FDT,” a Trump protest song by YG and Nipsey Hussle, played in the background.
“Thursday our HR business partner and our executive director met with Cameron over Zoom, and he’s been placed on paid administrative leave for the next five business days so that we can conduct an investigation,” library spokesperson Christina Sacco told the Times Free Press on Friday.
According to Sacco, Williams had been recently trained on the library’s “weeding” policy, which describes how and when to remove books from circulation.