Originally Published: 08 FEB 24 10:05 ET
By Web Staff
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — A Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State has posted a video of a book burning on social media.
Valentina Gomez posted a video in which she uses a flamethrower to light fire to books on the social media platform X Tuesday afternoon.
“When I’m Secretary of State, I will burn all the books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children. MAGA. America First,” she captioned the video.
The books she burns appear to be “Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens” and “Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia.”
“It’s extremely problematic. That type of hate-filled rhetoric has deadly consequences in our community,” said Brittany Dyer.
Brittany and Heather Dyer have been a couple for 11 years and live in Springfield, Missouri. They’re especially alarmed by Gomez as she continues to campaign against LGBTQ books in public libraries.
“DEI, LGBTQ and Critical Race Theory ends the second I get into office,” said Gomez in a video on X.
“Obviously. the rhetoric is beyond hateful and bigoted,” said Heather Dyer.
The couple saw Gomez at an event at a Springfield library last week, where Gomez can be seen holding two LBGTQ books.
First Alert 4′s sister station was also at the event, which included a talk by Riley Gaines, who advocates to keep trans women out of women’s sports. Gomez was interviewed.
“I’m fighting the political machine, I’m not backed by any special interests,” said Gomez. “Let’s get, excuse my language, our s*** together and pull up our pants and fight back.”
Gomez is seeking the job as Missouri Secretary of State, who runs state elections, but also is in charge of state funding for libraries.
‘I’m gonna defund all the libraries that are having LGBTQ, DEI, Critical Race Theory material in the children’s section,” said Gomez.
And while the Secretary of State does control state funding for libraries, local libraries are primarily funded at the local level, with their own library boards that make taxing decisions.
Gomez said she is a “self-made millionaire” and went to Tulane, where she competed in D1 swimming.
She was born in Colombia. She also is a vocal opponent of illegal immigration.
“Many of them are sleeper agents that will act against the public,” said Gomez in another X video.
And she even spoke at a November St. Charles County council meeting in favor of a resolution that aimed to stop legal immigrants from coming to the region.
“We have to stand up and fight for our US citizens,” said Gomez in November.
After seeing the video, First Alert 4 reached out to Gomez and her campaign treasurer for an interview. We never heard back.
Gomez’s LinkedIn also says she works at Nestle Purina.
“Ms. Gomez does not speak for Purina with her words and actions. The behavior in this video runs counter to the expectations we have for our employees,” stated the company.
According to her website, the 24-year-old is a real estate investor, financier and strategist.
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Valentina Gomez
Embargo: St. Louis, MO; **This image is for use with this specific article only** Missouri Secretary of State candidate Valentina Gomez posted a video in which she uses a flamethrower to light fire to books on the social media platform X.
KMOV
08 Feb 24
