An outraged political commentator accuses the Austin Public Library of being transformed into a dangerous, glorified homeless shelter as unhoused people cover all six floors of the $125 million building. 

Savannah Hernandez, a contributor for the late Charlie Kirk‘s Turning Point USA, visited the library recently, where she said in an X video that she came across several homeless people causing chaos in the building. 

‘The last time I came to this library, it was so terrifying that I knew I had to come back to expose how dangerous it is for families and children,’ she wrote on X. 

‘Within two minutes of visiting, I got stuck on an elevator with a homeless man who was clearly on drugs.’ 

A video from inside the elevator showed the man becoming confrontational with another man while awkwardly moving his limbs in what appeared to be a sign of drug usage. 

Hernandez claimed she told children not to enter the elevator when it stopped on their floor, but she did not appear to leave the elevator herself either. 

She also filmed people who appeared to have large bags and luggage with personal items in them and people who appeared to be in distress on benches through the building. 

‘Every single story has a homeless person either lounging on the furniture, in the restrooms, and causing what is, quite frankly, a terrifying environment to patrons at this library,’ she said. 

Hernandez also brought up two incidents that led to arrests at the library in the past year. 

In October 2025, Harold Newton Keene, 55, was taken into custody after he allegedly shot someone inside the library’s bathroom while standing on the toilet seat, Fox 7 Austin reported at the time. 

The victim was shot in the stomach inside the sixth-floor bathroom, causing the building to be evacuated. 

In March, Daniel Vasquez, 30, was arrested after he allegedly repeatedly stomped on a person’s head in an unprovoked attack. 

The victim was using one of the library’s free computers on the fourth floor when Vasquez allegedly approached him and hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious. 

He then allegedly stomped on the man’s head multiple times. 

Hernandez said most of the homeless people inside the library are ‘clearly on drugs’ and have caused the Austin Police Department to keep officers on duty nearby. 

The $125 million library took 10 years to open after being approved for construction. It broke ground in 2013 and opened its doors in 2017. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Austin Public Library and Hernandez for comment.