ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — A federal lawsuit is becoming one of the most checked-out pieces of reading associated with the St. Tammany Parish Library System.
“This case involves constitutional rights, not the least of which is the First Amendment right to free speech,” said attorney Bruce Hamilton.
Hamilton filed the lawsuit against the St. Tammany Parish Council Monday on behalf of William McHugh, Anthony Parr, and Rebecca Taylor. All three are the St. Tammany Parish Library Board of Control members, which oversees the library system.
“They’re just public servants,” said Hamilton. “They’re just trying to do their job and uphold the law.”
Earlier this month, the parish’s new council voted to replace Hamilton’s clients and two other board members, all of whom had been appointed by the previous council.
“This is more of a national trend to hijack the freedom of information in our intellectual freedom,” said a board member with the St. Tammany Library Alliance, Kristen Luchsinger.
Luchsinger says it all started with an LGBTQIA Pride display in the library back in 2022. She says some people, including newly elected parish councilman David Cougle, called for its removal, leading to books being contested.
“It was very apparent from the beginning that they were completely against the LGBTQ community,” said Luchsinger. “They did not want them to have any representation in our libraries.”
According to the lawsuit, Cougle, who is a named defendant, co-founded the St. Tammany Library Accountability Project in 2022. The lawsuit claims the organization’s mission is to “prevent the sexual exploitation of children.”
The organization was founded a year before Cougle won a seat on the parish council.
“It’s very clear from Mr. Cougle’s rhetoric that he felt the political affiliation of the dismissed library board members was not suitable,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton says because his clients decided not to restrict access to materials, they became targets. The council’s resolution, effective June 1st, points to a requirement for board terms to be staggered.
Hamilton says that for years, the council has appointed members to five-year fixed terms.
“It’s a complete sham and anyone who pays attention to the past year and a half to two years can see right through it,” said Hamilton.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.