Pepe the Frog creator forces withdrawal of 'hateful' book featuring cartoon

An artist who created a cartoon frog that was appropriated by white racists has forced a Texas man to quit distributing a children's book based on the character.

Attorneys for artist Matt Furie say he enforced his copyright of Pepe the Frog and forced former Texas educator Eric Hauser to quit distributing his self-published book, The Adventures of Pepe and Pede.

A statement released Monday by Furie's Boston-based lawyers, Louis Tompros and Don Steinberg, says Hauser's book was hateful, racist and Islamophobic.

Hauser's lawyer declined comment.

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Pepe the Frog first appeared more than a decade ago in an online cartoon. The character is often used by white supremacists and nationalists in online memes.

A Texas school district removed Hauser as an assistant principal after he published the book this summer.