Two right-wing Moms for Liberty members have been reporting Florida school librarians to law enforcement for distributing books they consider to be "pornography."
Jennifer Tapley, a member of the Santa Rosa County chapter of the right-wing group and a candidate for the local school board, called the sheriff's office Oct. 25 to report something "really disgusting" she had seen while scrolling through Facebook, and she later gave an interview to deputies with Tom Gurski, another member of the group, reported Popular Information.
"I've got some evidence a crime was committed," Tapley said in an audio recording of the call obtained through a public records request. "Pornography given to a minor in a school, and I would like to make a report with somebody and turn over the evidence."
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Tapley told the dispatcher she didn't want to give her name because she was "afraid of people getting mad," but she confirmed to Popular Information that she made the call after seeing a video of another mother reading a book on social media and joined the Moms for Liberty chapter, where she met Gurski.
"The only reason we are here: A crime is being committed," Gurski told a deputy at the sheriff's office. "It's a 3rd-degree felony, and we've got the evidence. The governor says this is child pornography. It's a serious crime. It's just as serious as if I handed a Playboy to [my child] right now, right here, in front of you. It's just as serious, according to the law."
Gurski told investigators that a 17-year-old girl had checked out the popular young adult novel, Storm and Fury, by Jennifer L. Armentrout, which he described as pornographic.
They ultimately were unable to persuade the sheriff's office to open an investigation, but Gurski says he convinced the Milton police department to initiate an investigation into his report on another young adult novel, Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and officers then referred the complaint to the state attorney's office for review.
