Court Rules that Fired Wyoming Librarian’s Lawsuit Against Book Banners Can Proceed
Lesley's case has garnered national attention, and her refusal to ban books won her the ALA's 2022 John Philip Immroth Memorial Award, which recognizes 'personal courage in defense of freedom of expression.'
A federal judge in Wyoming has ruled that a lawsuit filed by former Campbell County Public Library director Terri Lesley against a local family that repeatedly attacked her in public over her refusal to ban books can proceed. In a 36-page decision, federal judge Alan Johnson dismissed several claims lodged by Lesley on legal grounds but ultimately found that Lesley’s suit could proceed on three others: a civil conspiracy claim, a claim of “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” and a claim under section 1985(3) of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 that prohibits conspiracies to deprive people of equal protection under the law based on “class-based animus.”
The closely-watched lawsuit was first filed in September 2023, just weeks after Lesley, a popular figure in the community who had served the Campbell County Public Library for 27 years, the last 13 as director, was fired by a newly installed library board for refusing to ban books as directed. The drama began in the summer of 2021, when a handful of local activists objected to a Pride Month social media post by the library. Things continued to escalate from there, owing in part to the efforts of Hugh and Susan Bennett, and their son Kevin Bennett, the suit alleges, who now stand accused of falsely attacking Lesley publicly to win support for her removal.
“While the [Bennetts] were not Ms. Lesley' s employers, they allegedly conspired with her employers to humiliate her by displaying billboards in town claiming that the library she directed indoctrinated children, tried to convince other members of the community that she was encouraging children to have sex, wrote articles saying she exposed children to pornography, made numerous comments at public meetings that she was committing crimes, reported her to the police and threatened ‘charges’ at another public meeting, and regularly called for her resignation, all to pressure her in to removing library books, which she was not allowed to do by law,” Johnson’s writes in his decision. “We find that such behavior could reasonably be considered outrageous, and similar behavior—making impossible demands and public humiliation in a professional context—has been recognized as outrageous by Wyoming courts.”
Furthermore, in allowing Lesley’s Section 1985(3) claim to proceed, the court said there was “sufficient factual matter” to support her claim that the Bennetts “conspired, with each other and other members of the community, to deprive her of the equal protection of the law because of her advocacy and association with the LGBTQ+ community.” Notably, in his opinion Johnson cited a similar recent case from Llano County, Texas in which librarian Suzette Baker, who was also fired for refusing to illegally remove books with LGBTQ content, was recently allowed to pursue her wrongful termination case. After the ruling, Baker and the county settled late last month.
“Defendants argue that Ms. Lesley cannot allege a Section 1985(3) claim both because LGBTQ+ people do not constitute a class and because she herself is not part of that class,” the decision explains. “To the first point, while Plaintiffs claim for relief only mentions animus towards the LGBTQ+ community, it is clear from her statement of facts that at least one of the Bennetts was motivated by racial animus as well—the complaint excerpts a complaint to the library submitted by Kevin Bennett stating that he believes books with Black characters that are 'cooler' than white characters should not be in the library. Conspiracies motivated by racial animus are well within the purview of Section 1985(3)…However, we find that Ms. Lesley's claim is also successful based on her advocacy for LGBTQ+ people alone.”
Among the relief requested, Lesley is asking the court for a declaration that the Bennetts’ actions were wrongful, and an injunction barring future attacks. The suit also seeks compensatory damages, including for suffering and anguish, punitive damages, and exemplary damages. Lesley had also separately filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint.
Lesley's case has garnered national attention, and her refusal to ban books won her the 2022 John Philip Immroth Memorial Award, awarded annually by the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT). The award honors "notable contributions to intellectual freedom and demonstrations of personal courage in defense of freedom of expression." She was fired a year later.
“Ms. Lesley’s commitment to intellectual freedom, her community, and her staff is second to none,” said Conrrado Saldivar, President of the Wyoming Library Association, in a statement, at the time of her award. “Her resolve and defense of library materials has been an inspiration to all library staff in Wyoming and ensures that her community can continue having a robust exchange of ideas and opinions.”
