Censorship & Arrest At Library Board Meeting

Hi, my name is Matthew Humphrey. I'm an LGBTQ activist in south Louisiana. In 2019, a hate group came to my town at the invitation of an anti-LGBTQ political operative named Michael Lunsford. They came here to try to stop a Drag Queen Story Time event at the library, but my best friend and I beat them in Federal Court when we sued the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. We had two beautiful storytime events, but unfortunately, Mr. Lunsofrd has worked for four years to install fascists on our library board, and things have worsened.

On Monday, February 21, 2022, I attended a library board meeting where Michael Lunsford and his board president were making an attempt to ban several LGBTQ books. I protested verbally against the lying board president, and he attempted to have me removed by the police. I refused to leave, and things eventually calmed down. Eventually, Mr. Lunsford got up to speak again, and I said a single word - "yay" - and I was arrested. I was charged with Disturbing the Peace and locked out of the library for the rest of the meeting.

Their intention was to silence the gay guy fighting to keep his books in the library, and they broke the law to do it. It's wrong, and I need your help to fight back. I am raising funds to cover the costs of my defense for the criminal charge, and to retain an attorney to file another suit in Federal court.  If we don't stand up against censorship, these religious extremists will continue to censor LGBTQ voices and materials at the library.

Thank you for reading - I believe in libraries, and I know you do too. The people that don't are trying to take them from us. We must stop them.