Publisher Simon & Schuster announced on Thursday that they are no longer going to publish the book “The Tyranny of Big Tech,” by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley because of his actions that fueled a deranged conspiracy theory about the election that led to Trump supporters storming the Capitol on Wednesday.
“After witnessing the disturbing, deadly insurrection that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster has decided to cancel publication of Senator Josh Hawley’s forthcoming book,” the company said in a statement.
“We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”
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Hawley called the publisher’s decision “Orwellian” and a “direct assault on the First Amendment” in a statement.
“Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have not decided to redefine as sedition,” he said. “Let me be clear, this is not just a contract dispute. It’s a direct assault on the First Amendment. Only approved speech can now be published. This is the Left looking to cancel everyone they don’t approve of.”
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Sen. Hawley was one of the leading voices in an effort to overturn the results of the election in Congress by objecting to the certification of states’ Electoral College results despite knowing that their efforts would fail.
He has been accused of misleading supporters of Donald Trump about the chances of success in Congress, for political gain.
