Eagle County sheriff scrubs story hour reading of book by alt-right extremist

Following a Colorado Times Recorder story on Thursday, Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek canceled his children’s story time reading of a book by far-right extremist and “Pizzagate” conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, which had been set for Saturday at the Eagle Library.

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Department on Friday issued the following statement on behalf of van Beek:

“I wanted to put out a brief note to address some concerns expressed about a children’s book reading that was scheduled for tomorrow. Children’s story time should not be subjects of concern, but rather a sharing of joy, adventure, inspiration, education, and a vision of who we can become.

“I was honored to have been asked to do another children’s story time, which is a passion for me, and I try to schedule something at least every few months. So naturally I agreed to do it. At the time, while I was given the book title, I didn’t realize the controversy surrounding it. Storytime for young children should not be controversial, even if the topic is worthy. 

“To this objective, on Thursday 8/22/24 I canceled my participation at the event scheduled for tomorrow at the library, and will reschedule a book reading to take place, away from any controversy, and in line with my current community-focused, children’s story-time program. 

“With the beginning of a new school year, our next book and event will center on the importance of kindness, connection to community, and how we can all live a life of virtue, honor, and meaning. 

“Young people are influenced by messages, whether direct or subliminal and we want their book time to be a time of dreaming and excitement for a wonderful future.  If reading becomes a time of joy, then children will be more likely to select a book over more screen time.”

The Eagle County Republican Party on Friday sent out a new email blast promoting the event with a different person scheduled to read Posobiec’s “The Island of Free Ice Cream”. Local GOP Chairman Tony Martinez also sent an email statement about the Colorado Times Recorder story:

“I wanted to thank you for quoting me in your recent hit piece – I appreciate that you allowed God to appear in your column!” Martinez wrote. “Maybe you’ll see the Light one day and make a change in your life – I pray for people like you every day! Oh, and if this hit piece is you’re ‘A’ game, it’s pretty weak.”

The Eagle Library also issued a statement on Friday:

“The library follows District policy when reserving meeting room space for anyone in the community,” Anne Clarke of the Eagle Library wrote in an email. “The Eagle County Republicans event was no exception. Colorado law requires equitable access to public library meeting rooms.”

Clarke went on to cite Colorado Revised Statute 24-90-122 on making public facilities available on an equitable basis.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on the Colorado Times Recorder website.

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David O. Williams

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David O. Williams is the editor and co-founder of RealVail.com and has had his awarding-winning work (see About Us) published in more than 75 newspapers and magazines around the world, including 5280 Magazine, American Way Magazine (American Airlines), the Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), the Anchorage Daily Press (Alaska), Aspen Daily News, Aspen Journalism, the Aspen Times, Beaver Creek Magazine, the Boulder Daily Camera, the Casper Star Tribune (Wyoming), the Chicago Tribune, Colorado Central Magazine, the Colorado Independent (formerly Colorado Confidential), Colorado Newsline, Colorado Politics (formerly the Colorado Statesman), Colorado Public News, the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Colorado Statesman (now Colorado Politics), the Colorado Times Recorder, the Cortez Journal, the Craig Daily Press, the Curry Coastal Pilot (Oregon), the Daily Trail (Vail), the Del Norte Triplicate (California), the Denver Daily News, the Denver Gazette, the Denver Post, the Durango Herald, the Eagle Valley Enterprise, the Eastside Journal (Bellevue, Washington), ESPN.com, Explore Big Sky (Mont.), the Fort Morgan Times (Colorado), the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Greeley Tribune, the Huffington Post, the King County Journal (Seattle, Washington), the Kingman Daily Miner (Arizona), KUNC.org (northern Colorado), LA Weekly, the Las Vegas Sun, the Leadville Herald-Democrat, the London Daily Mirror, the Moab Times Independent (Utah), the Montgomery Journal (Maryland), the Montrose Daily Press, The New York Times, the Parent’s Handbook, Peaks Magazine (now Epic Life), People Magazine, Powder Magazine, the Pueblo Chieftain, PT Magazine, the Rio Blanco Herald Times (Colorado), Rocky Mountain Golf Magazine, the Rocky Mountain News, RouteFifty.com (formerly Government Executive State and Local), the Salt Lake Tribune, SKI Magazine, Ski Area Management, SKIING Magazine, the Sky-Hi News, the Steamboat Pilot & Today, the Sterling Journal Advocate (Colorado), the Summit Daily News, United Hemispheres (United Airlines), Vail/Beaver Creek Magazine, Vail en Español, Vail Health Magazine, Vail Valley Magazine, the Vail Daily, the Vail Trail, Westword (Denver), Writers on the Range and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Williams is also the founder, publisher and editor of RealVail.com and RockyMountainPost.com.

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