Librarian says he was forced out of job after Drag Queen Story Hour in South Carolina
A former library manager says he was forced to resign after the building held Drag Queen Story Hour, an event that sparked protests in South Carolina.
Jonathan Newton was working at a library in Simpsonville when the group Mom’s Liberal Happy Hour SC requested to use a space in early 2019, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in state court.
It hoped to host Drag Queen Story Hour, an event that would “feature local drag queens reading popular stories to children,” the lawsuit filed against Greenville County and the director of its library system said.
The parties on Friday didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The event was organized to introduce children “to all the different kinds of beautiful people in the world,” the group posted on Facebook.
After the group filed its application, Newton says community members pushed back against the event at his Five Forks library branch.
“During the time leading up to the event, the Five Forks staff members were harassed, and even received death threats,” prompting patrols from the local sheriff’s office, according to the lawsuit.
The event initially required attendees to show tickets and identification, which the library system in February 2019 said violated its policies, The State reported at the time. The story time was canceled but got rescheduled for later that month.
That day, protesters and counter protesters gathered outside the library branch, according to the lawsuit.
Even after the event, Newton says some people had ill feelings toward Drag Queen Story Hour.
In March 2019, he says the library director cited false reasons why he should be out of a job, all of which related to actions taken during the controversial event. But he wasn’t at the story hour, during which Newton followed procedure, according to the lawsuit.
He resigned after learning he would lose more than $5,000 he accumulated in benefits over his 17-year career with the Greenville County Library System.
Newton “was forced out of his job with GCLS because he objected to the unlawful action of GCLS, in inventing reasons to cancel the Drag Queen Story Hour event,” denying the rights of the Mom’s Liberal Happy Hour SC group, according to the lawsuit.
The document alleges Newton lost his salary and benefits and “suffered harm to his reputation, embarrassment, humiliation, and mental suffering.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Librarian says he was forced out of job after Drag Queen Story Hour in South Carolina."
