For weeks, it was clear that President Donald Trump’s loyalists within both chambers of Congress would object to the certification of the Electoral College results for the 2020 Presidential Election.
Among them was Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and like his similarly-minded colleagues, his rationale for doing so concerned the president’s frequent accusations of widespread voter fraud that neither he nor his allies have presented substantial evidence for.
But as The Guardian reported , these conspiracy theories and their repetition among certain Republican politicians have been described by their colleagues and by President-Elect Joe Biden as inciting the Wednesday riot that saw a large-scale security breach take place at the U.S. Capitol and resulted in the deaths of five people.
And based on their most recent business decision, it’s clear that publisher Simon & Schuster agrees with this assessment.
Before January 7, Simon & Schuster was set to release Hawley’s book *The Tyranny of Big Tech* on June 21.
As NBC News reported , the book saw Hawley describe major social media companies as “robber barons of the modern era” and accuse them of “determining elections” and banning “inconvenient political views.”
By the time yesterday rolled around, however, it was clear that the Capitol riot had compelled the publisher to stop giving Hawley a platform.
As USA Today reported , they released a statement saying, “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 TYRANNY OF BIG TECH.
“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.”
But as they went on to say, Hawley’s rhetoric leading up to the incident was identified as a factor in its proceedings.
As the publisher stated , “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.”
In response to this decision, Hawley tweeted out accusations that the publisher was making an “Orwellian” assault on the First Amendment.
As The Los Angeles Times reported , Hawley has often referred to his background as a constitutional lawyer.
With this in mind, it seems extremely improbable that he would somehow be unaware that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects citizens against censure of their free expression by the American government.
It does not force private enterprises to publish materials that they have withdrawn their support for.
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However, the response to Hawley’s tweet has been overwhelmingly negative and if anyone agreed with him, their statements were buried by those who condemned him.
As USA Today reported , this wasn’t helped by the fact that Hawley was photographed raising his fist in solidarity with the crowd clad in Trump paraphernalia as they massed outside.
And to reiterate, Hawley’s echoing of Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud conspiracy was identified by his colleagues as a dangerous ploy that served to undermine citizens’ faith in American democracy long before the events at the Capitol took place.
