Story at a glance
- Post Hill Press agreed to publish the book “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy,” by Jonathan Mattingly, one of the officers who shot at Breonna Taylor.
- Simon & Schuster, who distributes books for the smaller publisher, announced it would not distribute it.
- Taylor was killed on March 13, 2020 during a botched drug raid where officers used a no-knock warrant.
Publishing house Simon & Schuster stated it will not be distributing a new book written by one of the officers who shot at 26-year-old Breonna Taylor after a small-scale publisher that has its books distributed by Simon & Schuster announced it would be publishing it.
Post Hill Press, a small independent publisher that has worked with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is being federally investigated for sex trafficking, stated on Thursday it would be publishing Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly’s upcoming book, “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy.”
“Like much of the American public, earlier today Simon & Schuster learned of plans by distribution client Post Hill Press to publish a book by Jonathan Mattingly,” Simon & Schuster said in a statement. “We have subsequently decided not to be involved in the distribution of this book.”
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Mattingly, of the Louisville Metro Police Department, was part of a drug raid on March 13, 2020, using a no-knock warrant, on Taylor’s apartment. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he thought there was an intruder and that he accidentally shot Mattingly in the leg when firing a warning shot.
The police, including Mattingly, fired into the home in response. Walker was left uninjured but Taylor was hit six times and died on the scene. An investigation by the FBI found that another officer, Myles Cosgrove, fired the fatal shot. No drugs were found at the apartment.
A grand jury declined to indict Mattingly, though he continued to make headlines when an email he sent to fellow officers was leaked in September 2020, in which he defended his actions that night and railed against the public outrage and criminal inquiry.
A spokeswoman for the Post Hill Press defended the publishing house for agreeing to produce Mattingly’s book to the New York Times.
“In the case of Sergeant Mattingly, the mainstream media narrative has been entirely one-sided related to this story and we feel that he deserves to have his account of the tragic events heard publicly, as well,” she said. “Post Hill Press is standing behind our decision to publish his story.”
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