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Five stories that have North Texas talking: Denton ISD administrator under fire for kids book; white nationalist rally planned for Sept. 11; meet the eye behind iconic Dallas skyline photos; and more.

Some Denton County residents are calling for a school district administrator to be fired over his recently self-published childrens book that features a white nationalist symbol as a main character.

Eric Hauser, the assistant principal at Rodriguez Middle School, published The Adventures of Pepe and Pede on Amazon on Aug. 1. He said he didnt know that Pepe the Frog has been used by the self-described alt-right movement in recent years until after the book was out, The Dallas Morning News reports. He knew it was a conservative meme, he said, not one used by white nationalists.

(Update, Monday 4 p.m. Hauser has been removed from his position as assistant principal and assigned to an "unannounced role with the district," the Dallas Observer reports.)

Hauser said he wrote the story to fill a void in conservative children's literature, according to the Morning News. He also said he doesn't align with the alt-right and chose Pepe because he's a "funny," "lovable character." Pede is short for centipede, a self-adopted term by some supporters of President Trump, according to Buzzfeed.

Heres the description of the book, which Hauser says has been picked up by a publisher:

Pepe the Frog and his best friend Centipede unite as one as they fight to restore law and order, and bring freedom back to Wishington Farm. This is an adventurous tale for all ages packed with patriotic prominence!

An online petition with nearly 500 signatures (as of early Monday morning) demanding Hausers removal also calls out the book for being anti-Muslim.

The district hadn't heard about the book until Thursday when Hauser contacted them about it, Denton ISD spokesman Mario Zavala told the Morning News.

"It doesn't really apply to district curriculum. It's something Mr. Hauser wanted to do on a personal level," he said. [The Dallas Morning News]

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Petition Calls For Firing Of Denton ISD Admin Who Published Children's Book With Pepe The Frog - KERA News