A Florida mother running for her local school board allegedly called the police on a pair of school librarians over a book in the best-selling young adult fantasy series — which she compared to a copy of “Playboy.”
“I have some evidence of a crime being committed – pornography being given to minors at school,” said Jennifer Tapley, a member of the Santa Rosa County Moms for Liberty chapter, in a phone call to the local sheriff’s office on Oct. 25.
“And I would like to make a report with somebody and submit evidence,” he said in an audio recording of the phone call obtained by Popular Information Substack.
Tapley reportedly told the dispatcher she wanted to remain anonymous in the public records of her report because she was “afraid people would be mad at me for doing this.”
But body camera footage from a deputy with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office shows her and another Moms for Liberty member, Tom Gurski, telling a deputy that a “felony” had been committed because a 17-year-old had checked out the novel ” Storm and Fury ” by Jennifer L. Armentrout from a local high school.
“The only reason we’re here: A crime is being committed,” Gurski can be seen telling officers. “It’s a third-degree felony, and we have evidence.”
Jennifer Tapley, a Florida mother running for her local school board, allegedly called the police on a pair of school librarians for a book in the best-selling young adult fantasy series. Jennifer Tapley for Santa Rosa County School Board District 2
He added that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “said this is child pornography. It is a serious crime.”
At the time, Tapley added: “It’s as serious as I hand ‘Playboy’ to [my child] now.”
He showed the officer the novel, with the offending passages marked with orange sticky notes.
Tapley then singled out Ruth Witter, the head librarian at a Santa Rosa County school, who he claimed was a member of the Stop Moms for Liberty Group — who Tapley claimed had made “death threats” against Moms for Liberty members.
He also mentioned that Witter had posted in a Facebook group called Emerald Coast SWEEP, the local chapter of the national organization Red, Wine and Blue, which Tapley described as a “very liberal group of abortion rights activists” who opposed removal. books from public school libraries.
When asked by Popular Information whether she wanted to see the librarian criminally charged, the mother of one said it “depends on if there is intent”.
Tapley is seen on body camera footage telling Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputies that a “felony” was committed because a juvenile under the age of 17 had seen the novel “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout from a local high school. YouTube / Popular. Information
He said his hope is that the sheriff will tell the librarian “you can’t do this,” and “if you keep doing this, then there will be charges.”
But he added that he “doesn’t really want to see anyone whose life is ruined.”
Tapley explained to the outlet that she was “scrolling through Facebook” over the summer when she saw a “video of a mom reading a book” that was “absolutely disgusting.”
She later found out there was a Moms for Liberty chapter in her area and joined it, Popular Information reported.
As a member of the group, Tapley said he learned that the school had “some very shocking pornographic books in our library.”
She said that any book with “sex scenes” is not “appropriate for minors” and claimed that the book Moms for Liberty is asking to be removed from school libraries lacks “significant literary value.”
The video shows Tapley pointing out offensive passages in the novel to a sheriff’s deputy.YouTube / Popular.Information Tapley also singled out Ruth Witter, the head librarian at Santa Rosa County schools, who she claims is a member of the Stop Moms for Liberty group.YouTube / Popular. Information
The novel “Storm and Fury,” about an 18-year-old heroine who loses her sight but discovers she can see and talk to ghosts and spirits, contains “several passages with sexual themes, including several making out sessions, and one where the main character almost has sex ,” according to Popular Information.
Still, it’s recommended for young adult audiences by groups like School Library Journal and even included on the Florida Media in Education Association’s 2020-2021 “Teen Reading” list — intended to “engage” teens and “encourage critical thinking.”
It was written “to educate people about little-known diseases in a fun, suspenseful and challenging way,” according to author Armentrout, who said she was surprised to hear about efforts to ban her book.
The author said he was surprised to learn the US “lives in an era where, apparently, some adults find it appropriate to call the police over fictional books involving gargoyles.”
Novel “Storm and Fury,” about an 18-year-old heroine who loses her sight but discovers she can see and talk to ghosts and spirits.Amazon
Records obtained by Popular Information, however, suggest Tapley and Gurski’s efforts to release the novel were unsuccessful.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office referred the matter to the county’s school district security director and closed the case, according to Popular Information.
The school district so far still has the book on its shelves, and Dr. Tonya Shepherd, public information officer for the school district, told the Daily Beast: “To our knowledge, the school librarian has not been interviewed by the police. “
But both previously also filed reports with Milton, Fl. police over “Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List” by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, which features LGBTQ characters.
Tapley is also 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 District 2 Santa Rosa County School Board
Still, Tapley insisted to Popular Information that he wasn’t “looking for any books and trying to go to the police with them or anything.”
He also claimed he had “no interaction with the sheriff’s office other than accompanying a citizen there” and “any reports to the contrary are untrue.”
He also denied the incident in a Facebook post – despite body camera footage.
“While I can’t help but feel bad for those who have fallen for a poorly written tabloid hit piece spewed by an activist lawyer with a name that sounds like the most unpalatable vegetable (at least to children), I am very grateful for the incredible support shown to me by true patriots, I never realized God help me to be effective enough that the other party felt the need to approach an oafish ass several states away to twist and fabricate the ‘facts,'” he wrote on Tuesday.
“God has shown me who the real fighters are in this battle for our own children in Santa Rosa County,” he continued. “It has really separated the wheat from the tares.
“If you still stand with me, I applaud you. More and more parents are waking up to the vigilante lies and hateful Antifa-style tactics of the extreme left.
“But some wolves have revealed themselves as well,” he said.
The Post has also reached out to Gurski for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
