A Florida mother running for her local school board allegedly called the police on a pair of school librarians over a book from a hit young adult fantasy series, which she compared to a copy of “Playboy.”
“I have some evidence that a crime was committed: pornography was delivered to a minor at a school,” Jennifer Tapley, a member of the Santa Rosa County chapter of Moms for Freedom, said in a phone call to the local sheriff’s office. in October. 25.
“And I would like to make a report with someone and give them the evidence,” he said in an audio recording of the phone call obtained by Popular Information Substack.
Tapley reportedly told the operator that he wanted to remain anonymous in the public records of his report because he was “afraid people would get mad at me for doing this.”
But body camera footage from a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy showed her and another Moms for Freedom member, Tom Gurski, telling a deputy that a “serious crime” had been committed because A 17-year-old minor had read the novel “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout from a local high school.
“The only reason we’re here is because a crime is being committed,” Gurski could be seen telling the officers. “It’s a third-degree felony and we have the evidence.”
Jennifer Tapley, a Florida mother running for her local school board, allegedly called the police on a pair of school librarians over a book from a hit young adult fantasy series. Jennifer Tapley for Santa Rosa County School Board District 2
He added that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “says this is child pornography. “It is a serious crime.”
At that point, Tapley adds: “It’s as serious as if he gave a ‘Playboy’ to [my child] right now.”
He showed officers the novel, with the offending passages marked with orange sticky notes.
Tapley then highlighted Ruth Witter, the head librarian for Santa Rosa County Schools, who she says is a member of the group Stop Moms for Liberty, which Tapley says has made “death threats” against members of Moms for Liberty. .
He even mentioned that Witter had posted in a Facebook group called Emerald Coast SWEEP, a local chapter of the national organization Red, Wine and Blue, which Tapley described as “a very liberal activist group of people fighting for abortion rights” and who opposes elimination. of books from public school libraries.
When asked by Popular Information if she wanted the librarian to be criminally charged, the mother of one said “it depends on whether there’s intent.”
Tapley was seen on body camera footage telling a Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputy that a “felony” had been committed because a 17-year-old minor had read the novel “Storm and the Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout in a local high school. YouTube / Popular.Information
He said his hope was that the sheriff would tell the librarians “you can’t do this” and “if you continue doing this, then there will be charges.”
But he added that he “really didn’t want anyone’s life to be ruined.”
Tapley explained to the outlet that she was “surfing Facebook” over the summer when she saw a “video of a mom reading a book” that was “really disgusting.”
She later learned there was a Moms for Freedom chapter in her area and joined, Popular Information reported.
As a member of the group, Tapley said he learned that schools had “some really shocking pornographic books in our libraries.”
She said any book with a “sex scene” is not “appropriate for minors” and claimed that the books Moms for Liberty are calling for to be removed from school libraries lack “significant literary value.”
The video shows Tapley pointing out offensive passages in the novel to a sheriff’s deputy. YouTube / Popular. Information Tapley also highlighted Ruth Witter, the head librarian for Santa Rosa County Schools, who she said is a member of Stop Moms for Liberty. Group.YouTube / Popular.Information
The novel “Storm and Fury,” about an 18-year-old heroine who is losing her vision but discovers she can see and talk to ghosts and spirits, contains “some passages with sexual themes, including some kissing sessions and one where the main character he almost has sex,” according to Popular Information.
Still, it was recommended for young adult audiences by groups like School Library Journal and was even included on the Florida Education Media Association’s 2020-2021 “Reads for Teens” list, intended to “engage” teens. adolescents and “provide a stimulus for critical reflection.” thought.”
It was written “to educate people about a little-known disease in a fun, suspenseful and adventurous way,” according to author Armentrout, who said she was surprised to learn of the effort to have her book banned.
The author said she was stunned to learn that the United States is “living in an era where some adults apparently find it appropriate to contact the police about a fiction book involving gargoyles.”
The novel “Storm and Fury,” about an 18-year-old heroine who is losing her vision but discovers that she can see and talk to ghosts and spirits.Amazon
However, records obtained by Popular Information suggest that Tapley and Gurski’s effort to remove the novel was unsuccessful.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office referred the matter to the county school district’s security director and closed the case, according to Popular Information.
As of now, the school district still keeps the book on its shelves, and Dr. Tonya Shepherd, public information officer for the school district, told the Daily Beast: “As far as we know, the school librarians have not been interviewed by the school. police. “
But the duo also previously filed a report with Milton, Florida. police about “Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List” by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which features an LGBTQ character.
Tapley is even running for school board on a platform of removing books containing “harmful content” from school libraries, according to his campaign website.
Tapley is running on a platform to remove books containing “harmful content” from school libraries. Jennifer Tapley for Santa Rosa County School Board District 2
Still, Tapley insisted to Popular Information that he is not “looking for any books or trying to go to the police with it or anything like that.”
He also stated that he “had no interactions with the sheriff’s office beyond accompanying a citizen there” and that “any report indicating otherwise would be inaccurate.”
He even denied the incident in a Facebook post, despite body camera footage.
“While I can’t help but feel sad for those who have fallen for the poorly written tabloid article spewed by an activist lawyer with a name that resembles a most unpleasant vegetable (at least to children), I am very grateful for the “The overwhelming support that true patriots have shown me, I never realized that God helped me be effective enough that the other party felt the need to approach a dumb donkey several states away to distort and fabricate the ‘facts,'” he wrote Tuesday.
“God has shown me who the real fighters are in this battle for our own children in Santa Rosa County,” he continued. “He has truly separated the wheat from the tares.
“If you are still with me, I applaud you. More and more parents are waking up to the woke lies and hateful Antifa-style tactics of the far left.
“But some wolves have also revealed themselves,” he said.
The Post also contacted Gurski for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn