ACLU of Arkansas files suit against Saline County over library director firing
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas announced on Monday that it was suing Saline County and county Judge Matthew Brumley for what it is calling the retaliatory firing of library director Patty Hector.
The complaint alleges that the county targeted Hector for her opposition to censorship of library material and public comments opposing censorship.
Brumley fired Hector in October 2023 after the county quorum court passed a law that allowed the county judge to fire a library director, taking that power away from the county library board. The board had refused to fire Hector despite protests from local social conservatives who were concerned about books they deemed sexually explicit in the library—culminating in a Saline County Republican Women-sponsored “Director Hector must go” billboard.
“Standing up against censorship should never cost someone their job,” ACLU of Arkansas Legal Director John Williams said. “Ms. Hector was fired for defending the right to read freely and for refusing to let political pressure dictate the operation of a public library. Retaliation against her for speaking out on these critical issues is not only unconstitutional — it’s an attack on the principles of free expression and access to information that public libraries stand for.”
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that Hector’s termination violated her constitutional rights, as well as compensatory damages for emotional distress and lost wages.
from KARK https://ift.tt/yANfzK1
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