WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Amanchukwu was removed after reading excerpts from Push during public comment.
  • He says the book remains available at Lake Norman High School.
  • Amanchukwu argues the board censored him and plans to file a lawsuit.
  • The district had not publicly responded as of October 14.

Pastor John K. Amanchukwu Sr. was removed by police from the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education meeting on October 12, 2026, after he began reading excerpts from the novel *Push* by Sapphire, also known as Ramona Lofton. The book is available to students at Lake Norman High School in the district.

Amanchukwu, who goes by @REVWUTRUTH on X, posted a video of the incident the following day. In the footage, he stands at the podium during the public comment portion of the meeting and quotes passages from the book. Board Chair Dr. Doug Knight interrupts him. Officers then approach and escort him from the podium and out of the meeting room.

In a post accompanying the video, Amanchukwu wrote: “A LAWSUIT IS COMING!!! The Iredell-Statesville School District has a BIG problem. I was censored by the board chair for reading from Push by Ramona Lofton. Then POLICE were brought in to intimidate me and force me away from the podium. Let me get this straight: THE BOOK STAYS. THE PREACHER GETS SILENCED. An allegedly inappropriate book remains in Lake Norman High School, but a preacher exercising his right to speak gets shut down?”

The video continues in a hallway outside the meeting room, where Amanchukwu speaks with officers about the reasons for his removal and the limits on public comment. He maintains that he was exercising his right to address the board about material available in a district high school library.

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Amanchukwu had announced earlier on October 12 that he planned to speak at the meeting as part of his ongoing national effort focused on school library materials. He posted: “Pray for me! I’m speaking at the Iredell-Statesville school board meeting tonight! My national school board campaign continues, and we’re keeping the main thing, the main thing. We must protect our children.”

*Push*, published in 1996, is a novel written from the perspective of a teenage girl and contains descriptions of sexual abuse, incest, and rape. Amanchukwu has previously read from the same book at other school board meetings around the country, including one in Midland, Texas, in 2024, where he was also removed by police after board members cut his microphone.

The October 12 Iredell-Statesville meeting took place at the Career Academy and Technical School in Troutman. The district livestreamed the session on its official YouTube channel. Public comment is a standard part of the board’s agenda, though speakers are typically limited in time and subject matter according to board rules.

Amanchukwu has stated that he intends to file a lawsuit against the Iredell-Statesville School District over the removal. As of October 14, 2026, no formal complaint had been filed in court, and the district had not issued a public statement responding to his account of the events.

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Lake Norman High School serves students in grades 9 through 12 in the Mooresville area of Iredell County. The school is one of several high schools operated by Iredell-Statesville Schools. District policy addresses the selection and review of instructional materials, including processes for parents or residents to challenge books in school libraries.

Amanchukwu, a North Carolina pastor and frequent speaker at school board meetings nationwide, has appeared before boards in multiple states to raise concerns about specific titles. His appearances have previously drawn both support and criticism, and several have ended with officers intervening when board chairs ruled him out of order or when time limits expired.

The full video of the October 12 meeting remains available on the Iredell-Statesville Schools YouTube channel. Amanchukwu’s shorter clip focusing on his remarks and removal has circulated widely on X since he posted it on October 13.

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