Some may have forgotten Patty Hector, formerly the embattled Saline County librarian who was fired after months of harassment because she refused to bow to censorship demands.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas did not forget. On Monday it filed a federal lawsuit accusing Saline County and County Judge Matthew Brumley of violating Hector’s constitutional rights when he fired her in October 2023.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, the lawsuit contends Hector was unlawfully fired from her position as library director in retaliation for her outspoken opposition to censorship efforts, a violation of her First Amendment rights.
Hector, who had decades of experience as a professional librarian, had been the Saline County library director since July 2016. After the county’s library board stood by Hector and did not fire her, the Saline County Quorum Court passed an ordinance in August 2023 giving Brumley the ability to fire her instead. In October 2023, he fired Hector, telling her only that her “services are no longer needed.”
The lawsuit, which also challenges the constitutionality of that ordinance, argues that the measure unfairly singled out and targeted Hector for punishment, violating her constitutional rights.
The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. in Little Rock.
“Standing up against censorship should never cost someone their job,” John Williams, legal director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a news release. “Ms. Hector was fired for defending the right to read freely and for refusing to let political pressure dictate the operation of a public library. Retaliation against her for speaking out on these critical issues is not only unconstitutional — it’s an attack on the principles of free expression and access to information that public libraries stand for.”
Hector had garnered the anger of Republican justices of the peace because of her refusal to remove books with even vaguely LGBTQ+ themes from shelves of the libraries’ children’s sections to places that are harder for children to find or reach. Hector said the library’s content was already in its appropriate place and moving books to hard-to-access spots was the same as censorship.
“I’ve spent my career fostering access to diverse perspectives and ensuring that public libraries are places where everyone feels seen and supported,” Hector said in the news release. “I could not stay silent as calls for censorship targeted marginalized communities and undermined our library’s mission. Losing my job was devastating, but I refuse to let these actions go unchallenged.”
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that Hector’s termination violated her constitutional rights, in addition to compensatory damages for emotional distress and lost wages. The lawsuit also demands a jury trial.
“The Defendants’ actions against Ms. Hector send a chilling message to public servants who dare to stand up for their values and the rights of their communities,” Williams said. “This lawsuit is about holding government officials accountable and ensuring that no one is punished for defending the Constitution.”
Brumley did not immediately respond to an Arkansas Times email and phone message seeking comment. Trevor Villines, communications director for Saline County, said the county does not comment on pending litigation.
Hector’s firing rallied supporters of free speech. Last year, the American Library Association honored her with the 2024 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity. With the award came $10,000 in cash.
Hector talked with the Times at length in this November 2023 Q-and-A.
You can read the full lawsuit complaint at this link.
