‘Extremely problematic’: Missouri Secretary of State candidate uses flamethrower to burn books

ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) -- A Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State is gaining attention for posting a video of her burning books with a flamethrower on social media.

Valentina Gomez posted the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on 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 in the video appear to be “Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens” and “Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia.”

Brittany Dyer saw the video and said it was “extremely problematic.” She and her partner Heather Dyer have been a couple for 11 years and live in Springfield, Missouri.

“That type of hate-filled rhetoric has deadly consequences in our community,” Brittany Dyer said.

The Dyers are 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,” Gomez said in a video posted to X.

Heather Dyer said Gomez’s rhetoric is “beyond hateful and bigoted.”

The couple said they saw Gomez at an event at a Springfield library last week, where Gomez can be seen holding two LGBTQ books.

KMOV also attended the event, which included a talk by Riley Gaines, who advocates to keep trans women out of women’s sports.

“I’m fighting the political machine, I’m not backed by any special interests,” Gomez said during an interview at the event. “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 is also 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,” Gomez said.

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 was born in Colombia and is a “self-made millionaire.”

She is also a vocal opponent of illegal immigration.

“Many of them are sleeper agents that will act against the public,” Gomez said in another X video.

Gomez even spoke at a November event outside of St. Louis in favor of a resolution that aimed to stop legal immigrants from coming to the region.

KMOV reached out to Gomez and her campaign treasurer for an interview but said they did not hear back.

Gomez’s LinkedIn also says she works at Nestle Purina, according to KMOV.

“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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