A school district and school board in Florida’s Escambia County were sued in federal court by free expression group PEN America and Penguin Random House, one of the largest book publishers in the world, and several prominent authors and families following dozens of challenges to books and materials discussing race, racism and LGBT+ people. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court on 17 May, argues that school officials have joined an “ideologically driven campaign to push certain ideas out of schools” against the recommendation of experts. “This disregard for professional guidance underscores that the agendas underlying the removals are ideological and political, not pedagogical,” the lawsuit states. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has ushered through sweeping laws to control public school education and lessons and speech he deems to be objectionable while characterising reporting on the impacts of such policies as a “hoax” and a “fake narrative” manufactured by the press. In Escambia County alone, nearly 200 books have been challenged, at least 10 books have been removed by the school board, five books were removed by district committees, and 139 books require parental permission, according to PEN America. Challenging such materials is “depriving students of access to a wide range of viewpoints, and depriving the authors of the removed and restricted books of the opportunity to engage with readers and disseminate their ideas to their intended audiences” in violation of the First Amendment, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also argues that singling out materials by and about nonwhite and LGBT+ people is an intentional violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment “This is no accident,” according to the lawsuit. “The clear agenda behind the campaign to remove the books is to categorically remove all discussion of racial discrimination or [LGBT+] issues from public school libraries. Government action may not be premised on such discriminatory motivations.” Two Penguin Random House Titles – Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Push by Sapphire – have been removed. And several other Penguin titles – including Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five – are currently under review. “Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives,” Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya said in a statement. “Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our constitutional rights.” Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, added: “Children in a democracy must not be taught that books are dangerous.” “In Escambia County, state censors are spiriting books off shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices,” she added. “In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand. The law demands that the Escambia County School District put removed or restricted books back on library shelves where they belong.” Titles from authors who joined the suit – including Sarah Brannen, David Levithan, George M Johnson, Ashley Hope Perez and Kyle Lukoff – have either been removed or faced restrictions for students to access them. “As a former public high school English teacher, I know firsthand how important libraries are,” Ashley Hope Perez, author of Out of Darkness, one of the books targeted by the school district, said in a statement. “For many young people, if a book isn’t in their school library, it might as well not exist.” The book removals followed objections from one language arts teacher in the county, and in each case the school board voted to remove the books despite recommendations from a district review committee that approved them. The teacher’s objections appear to be lifted from a website called Book Looks, founded by a member of Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group aligned with Governor DeSantis, to pressure school boards and libraries to remove content it deems objectionable, largely around LGBT+ rights, race and discrimination. The basis for that teacher’s challenges “are nakedly ideological”, according to the lawsuit. In one instance, she admitted that she had never heard of the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower but included the title and a “parental book rating” and excerpts that appear to have been lifted from Book Looks. Her challenge to Race and Policing in Modern America, a nonfiction book for middle school readers, claims that the book promotes “the idea that all police are bad” and that “non-blacks are racist” and its purpose is to “race bait”. She did not include any specific examples of objectionable content, and “her sole objection was that the book addresses a topic – the intersection of race and policing – that she did not consider suitable for discussion in schools”. The Independent has requested comment from Escambia County school board members. The district is unable to comment on pending litigation. There have been at least 1,477 attempts to ban 874 individual book titles within the first half of the 2022-2023 school year, according to PEN America. The figures mark a nearly 30 per cent spike from book challenges over the previous year. Last year, a record high of more than 1,200 attempts to remove books from schools and libraries were reported to the American Library Association. More than 100 bills in state legislatures across the country this year threaten to cut library budgets, implement book rating systems, regulate the kinds of books and materials in their collections, and amend obscenity definitions that preempt First Amendment protections, according to a database from EveryLibrary. Read More The book ban surge gripping America’s schools and libraries The school librarian in the middle of Louisiana’s war on libraries ‘They were trying to erase us’: Inside a Texas town’s chilling effort to ban LGBT+ books John Green on book bans, bad faith, and the ‘history of folks trying to control what other folks can read’

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Allies of former president Donald Trump quickly came to his defence on Thursday after he revealed he was facing a federal indictment related to a Department of Justice investigation into his mishandling of classified documents. The indictment comes after a months-long investigation into whether Mr Trump knowingly kept sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago home and / or misled investigators looking into the matter. According to reports, Mr Trump will face seven charges related to the federal indictment. On Twitter, allies of Mr Trump remained loyal to him and downplayed the severity of the indictment. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) claimed the indictment was a form of “election interference” on Twitter “This phony Boxes Hoax indictment against President Trump reflects the most severe election interference on the part of the federal government that we have EVER seen!” he tweeted. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said the indictment came because Democrats fear Mr Trump will win re-election. "Democrats must literally shake with sweats when they see amazing packed out Trump rallies and overwhelming winning poll numbers week after week," she tweeted. "They must awake in the night with panic at the thoughts of us winning in 2024." Ms Greene added that the indictment was meant to distract from Mr Biden’s supposed crimes, for which she provided debunked claims or those with little evidence. She also noted how Mr Biden currently faces an investigation from Special Counsel Robert Hur for having classified documents at multiple locations, including his private residence. "Joe Biden has classified documents everywhere," she tweeted. "Literally on the garage floor next to the garage door that opens and closes, but the corrupt and complicit FBI and DOJ do nothing." Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) tweeted: "There is no limit to what these people will do to protect their power & destroy those who threaten it, even if it means ripping our country apart & shredding public faith in the institutions that hold our republic together.” In a statement posted to her Twitter, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) echoed other GOP congressional members’ statements, saying the indictment was an interference with Mr Trump’s campaign. Right-wing activist Mike Cernovich tweeted: “This is the JFK assassination all over again - they are killing Trump by other means.” In another post he said: “The deep state killed JFK with bullets. Now they are using briefcases to assassinate those who stand in their way.” The indictment comes as Mr Trump is seeking a third bid for the White House. Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ), one of the leaders of the insurgent House Freedom Caucus, railed against the Justice Department for the indictment "We ought to defund and dismantle the DOJ," he tweeted. "I stand with President Trump." Additional reporting by Eric Garcia Read More ‘A criminal not a victim’: Trump critics mock his cries of ‘witch-hunt’ as he is indicted over secret papers Trump indictment - live: Trump says he’s ‘an innocent man’ as he faces seven charges in documents case Will Donald Trump be arrested and jailed after classified documents indictment? Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

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