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an ex Wyoming The library director who was fired amid an uproar over books containing sexual material and LGBTQ+ themes that some complained were inappropriate for youth and who demanded they be removed from youth shelves will be paid $700,000 after settling a lawsuit.
Terry Leslie was removed from his position as library system director in Campbell County, in northeastern Wyoming, in 2023, two years after a book controversy at the library. GilletteLeslie sued over his firing last spring and reached a settlement with county officials on Wednesday.
Leslie said, “I feel confident. It’s been a hard road, but I will never regret standing up for the First Amendment.”
A major coal-mining region on the western High Plains, Campbell County is one of the most conservative areas in one of the most conservative states.
Public officials there sided with those who objected to the book and violated Leslie’s First Amendment rights, Leslie claimed in her federal lawsuit against Campbell County, including its commission and library board.
The county denied Leslie’s claims. The county argued in court documents that only Leslie’s performance – not the controversy over the books – played a role in her dismissal.
Patrick Hoelscher, a private-practice attorney hired by the county for the lawsuit, and County Attorney Nathan Henkes did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment Wednesday.
Books objected to at Gillette include “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, “How Do You Make a Baby” by Anna Fiske, “Doing It” by Hannah Witton,sex “It’s a Funny Word” by Corey Silverberg, and “Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy” by Andrew P. Smiler.
“We hope that at least it will send a message to other library districts, other states, other counties that the First Amendment is alive and strong and our values against discrimination will also be alive and strong,” said Leslie’s attorney, Iris Halpern. “These are public institutions, these are public officials, they have to take into account their constitutional obligations.”
Halper and his firm, Rathore Mohammadbhai denverhas supported library staff laid off elsewhere in recent years. Under the settlement agreement, Leslie is dropping her lawsuit, although she has filed a separate lawsuit against three individuals who objected to the books, which will continue.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency tasked with enforcing discrimination laws, allowed a lawsuit to be filed against county officials based on a prior EEOC complaint filed by Leslie.