PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (AP) — A staffer at a southwestern Wisconsin library says a Republican congressional candidate threatened and intimidated her over a gay pride display.
Prairie du Chien Memorial Library page Kerrigan Trautsch told the La Crosse Tribune that Derrick Van Orden came into the library on June 17 and complained loudly about a display of books in the children’s section that address homosexuality in honor of Pride Month.
Trautsch says Van Orden was angry and that he said the books offended him. She says he demanded to know who set up the display so he could teach them a lesson. He then got a library card and checked out every book from the display except for one a patron was reading.
COPYRIGHT 2021 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.