Pastor John Amanchukwu ends Nevada School Board meeting
Speaker is accompanied from the podium at WCSD board meeting
Bruce Foster was reading a sexually explicit passage from Alaska when he was asked to stop. He refused and was escorted from the podium.
The Washoe County School Board twice adjourned the public hearing on Tuesday after readings were made from books that speakers said were not suitable for school children and were on the library shelves.
Dozens of people filled the district’s boardroom, lobby and an additional room to speak during the public hearing.
People held signs reading, “No X-rated books in schools” and “We do not cooperate with the school board in education.”
The majority were there to read from books that they felt should not be available in schools.
The public discussion began when conservative pastor John Amanchukwu from North Carolina began reading explicit passages from “American Psycho.”
Watch live: WSCD School Board Meeting
Board Vice President Adam Mayberry asked Amanchukwu to refrain from using profanity during public comments. Amanchukwu continued reading and speaking to the crowd even after board members left the room.
The meeting later continued and Amanchukwu left the chamber.
The pastor has spoken at other school board meetings across the country. According to multiple news reports, he has been asked to leave other school board meetings.
The crowd cheered as Amanchukwu was approached by school district police officers and repeatedly asked to leave the administration building.
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The Washoe County School Board walked out of the school after a protester continued to read graphic passages from “American Psycho,” which is shown in some Reno high schools.
A search of Washoe County high school library book catalogs shows that Bret Easton Ellis’s “American Psycho” is available at Hug, Reno, and Spanish Springs high schools. The book is not available at any of the other nine high schools and no middle schools.
Published in 1991, the adult novel with graphic depictions of violence tells the story of the New York investment banker and serial killer Patrick Bateman in the first person.
In Australia, the book may not be sold to persons under 18 years of age.
The board went into recess for a second time when Speaker Bruce Foster began reading from “Looking for Alaska.” Two county officials asked Foster to leave the boardroom. He sat down again and did not leave the room.
Chris Knox, a father of two students from the Washoe County School District, spoke against the book ban during the public hearing, which now lasted more than two hours. She was one of a few who spoke against the majority in the room.
Knox, of Sparks, said she wants all current and miscellaneous books to remain on the library shelves.
“Don’t let retirees and people who are not from our community ban books,” she told the board.
“I want my children to have access to all books.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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