Nate Silvester Says Book Will Educate LeBron James' 'Limited Understanding' of Police

The Idaho deputy who was suspended after mocking NBA superstar LeBron James on TikTok announced he has signed a book deal, which he hopes will "help educate people" with a "very limited understanding" of law enforcement.

Nate Silvester, a deputy with the Bellevue Marshal's Office, amassed millions of views after filming himself pretending to ask James for advice on how to proceed when faced with an imagined knife attack involving two Black people.

Silvester's video was in response to the controversy surrounding a now-deleted tweet posted by the Los Angeles Lakers player, in which he demanded "accountability" for last month's police shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio. The Bellevue Marshal's Office was none too pleased with Silvester's meteoric rise to virality and publicly clarified the deputy's statements "do NOT represent" his employer.

A GoFundMe fundraiser aimed at financially supporting Silvester during his suspension raised around $507,316 at time of writing. On Wednesday, the deputy told KTVB he plans to allocate one portion of the money to the First Responders Children's Foundation, and another towards creating a scholarship fund for displaced police officers.

Silvester posted a TikTok on Thursday detailing a number of events that have taken place over the course of his suspension. These include interviews with conservative media personalities Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, raising money "for a good cause," and inking the book deal.

"Yes, your eyes did not deceive you, you read that correctly: I signed a book deal yesterday, the working title of which is 'Never Off Duty,'" Silvester said in the video. "The whole point of my TikTok account is to humanize the badge and help shed a positive light on law enforcement that some people don't get to see."

"This book is gonna further that cause and help educate people like LeBron James and others who have a very limited understanding of police officers and the work that they do," he continued, before thanking his supporters and urging them to "keep up this momentum."

Silvester signed his deal with Texas-based publisher Di Angelo Publications, which has slated the book for release this fall.

The book's promotional description on the publisher's website reads: "Deputy Marshall Nate Silvester shares a revealing look at his life as a cop in 2021, the societal pressures of the job, the concept of being 'never off duty,' and standing up to speak on behalf of tens of thousands of silenced police offers [sic] and their frightened families."

In an email to Newsweek, Di Angelo Publications billed itself as a "modern publishing firm that offers a platform for a range of stories and perspectives."

"As an independent publisher we are passionate supporters of the first amendment and thus, encourage all of our authors to speak out on the platform in which they believe," said founder and president Sequoia Schmidt. "Nate Silvester has an important and compelling story to tell, and we welcome the opportunity to help him share his viewpoint."

During a Wednesday appearance on Sean Hannity's podcast, Silvester said he was set to return to work this week.

This story was updated on May 10 at 2:10 a.m. ET to include a statement from Di Angelo Publications.