Hawley’s forthcoming book picked up by conservative publishing house

Sen. Josh Hawley’s upcoming book has been picked up by conservative publishing house Regnery Publishing after it was dropped by Simon & Schuster in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Regnery announced on Twitter that it was moving ahead with publishing Hawley’s “The Tyranny of Big Tech.” The book is scheduled to be published on May 4, according to a pre-order page for the book on Barnes and Noble’s website.

BREAKING: @HawleyMO signs with Regnery after Simon & Schuster cancels book.

Pre-order your copy of “The Tyranny of Big Tech” here: https://t.co/VoO4t4AqPw https://t.co/mH39qSarKP

— Regnery Publishing (@Regnery) January 18, 2021

Simon & Schuster announced that it wouldn’t publish the book one day after the riots at the U.S. Capitol that forced Congress to delay its certification of the Electoral College vote affirming President-elect Joe Biden as the winner.

The publisher said the decision didn’t come lightly, but it couldn’t support Hawley after the Missouri Republican still objected to the official vote count in Pennsylvania hours after a violent takeover of the Capitol by pro-Trump supporters who largely believed the president’s claims that the election was stolen from him.

Hawley led an objection to Pennsylvania’s electors after the riot was over, and voted to uphold challenges to both Pennsylvania and Arizona’s electoral votes.

“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,” the company said in a statement at the time.

Hawley called the move “Orwellian” and said it was a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”

Hawley has only faced more backlash in the wake of the riots that led to five deaths, including that of a Capitol Police officer, along with calls to resign. Critics have argued that Hawley bears some responsibility for inciting the riot.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal published Monday, Regnery president Thomas Spence defended Hawley’s decision to still object to the Electoral Vote, saying the senator invoked his “legal right” in doing so.

“Reasonable people can disagree whether his act was noble or cynical, courageous or rash, but no one can reasonably argue that he intended to incite that afternoon’s invasion of the Capitol by a lawless mob. He immediately and forcefully condemned the attack,” Spence wrote.