January 28, 2021

ACLU Sues After Man Banned From Library Over Trump Poem

WFIU-WTIU News

WFIU-WTIU News

The Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Jackson County because a Seymour man has been banned from the public library.

Richard England says he was banned from the library in November after he wrote what his attorney called a “short and unoffensive” poem about former President Donald Trump. England left the poem for a library employee with whom he was friends.

“When that individual was not there, he left it on a basket in the circulation desk,” said attorney Gavin Rose.

“When he got home, he had a voicemail from an officer with the Seymour police department saying the library essentially trespassed him,” Rose added.

The lawsuit, filed in Indiana’s Southern District court, asks a judge to lift the ban.

“He doesn’t have internet or cable at home because he’s on a fixed income, so he gets his entertainment through the library,” said Rose.

The chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners has not responded to a request for comment.

Dkt 1-1 - Exhibit 1 Poem by Indiana Public Media News

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