Andrew Beacham, the Sterling man who was appointed to the Loudoun County library board of trustees by the county board of supervisors on Jan. 2, submitted his resignation Sunday. The move eliminates the possibly tricky legal question of the board trying to remove someone from a board once they have been nominated and confirmed.

Andrew Beacham, left, tears a page from the Koran in front of the White House as Randall Terry, right, watches on September 11, 2010. Terry was protesting in supporting of Rev. Terry Jones and his announcement that he would burn Korans. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

On Friday, the State of NoVa reported that Beacham had a colorful past as an anti-abortion protester, including tearing pages from a Koran in front of the White House on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. His Twitter feed includes vehement denunciations of liberals, gays and Nelson Mandela. He has twice stood and disrupted speeches by President Obama. More details about all that are here.

Beacham, 31, was nominated for the library board in December by Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), and confirmed by consent vote in a board meeting on Jan. 2. Beacham told me last week that he was not interested in censoring or removing books from the Loudoun library, that he is the son of a librarian and wanted to serve the public in the volunteer post.

On Saturday, Delgaudio said he would withdraw Beacham’s nomination. But there was some question about whether that could be done with a member appointed according to state code. So on Sunday, Beacham submitted a short letter of resignation:

“Dear Members of the Board of Loudoun County Supervisors,

Thank you for considering me for a position on the Library Board. Due the circumstances [sic], I hereby tender my resignation effective immediately from the Loudoun County Library Board of Trustees.

Sincerely,

Andrew R. Beacham”

Delgaudio said he didn’t know of Beacham’s background. After Beacham resigned, Delgaudio said Monday that “I appointed somebody I should’ve known was active in the national political sphere. I didn’t know.” He said he wanted nominees who were focused on local service.

Beacham did not return a message Monday seeking comment.

The original story about Beacham is here.

A follow-up story, in which Delgaudio said he was withdrawing Beacham’s nomination, is here.