Library stonewalls request to release video of showdown between family, LGBTQ+ groups

A Cleveland-area library is stonewalling public records requests from Ohio.news to release information, including video, detailing a purported fracas between a conservative, pro-family group and LGBTQ+ advocates.

Hilary Jackson, chair of the Cuyahoga County Chapter of Moms for Liberty, a group that says it “is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government,” organized the “See You At the Library” event at the Brecksville Library on Aug. 16.

However, according to Jackson, instead of a positive experience, LGBTQ+ advocates turned up at the library to stage a protest.

“Protesters positioned themselves directly in front of the entrance to our reserved space,” Jackson said during a Brecksville City Council meeting. “Then they entered the event, staged a sit-in, and surrounded our guests,” she said.

“They held up books, not to their own children, but facing our guests, deliberately disrupting and creating an atmosphere of intimidation,” Jackson added. “Families felt uncomfortable, children felt unsafe, and this was allowed to happen in a taxpayer-funded building that should be neutral ground. This was not a civil disagreement. It was a targeted disruption of children’s story time.”

Jackson asked city leaders to establish clear event management protocols at public facilities that prevent groups from entering or disrupting the reserved space of others. She also called on officials to affirm that Brecksville will not provide sponsorships or partnerships to organizations that engage in intimidation tactics.

“Brecksville is a place where families should feel safe gathering, sharing ideas and raising their children without fear of intimidation or harassment,” Jackson said during a Brecksville City Council meeting. “Sadly, that was not the experience for many families who attended our event. What should have been a joyful, family-centered story hour was disrupted by an organized protest led by the BBH Pride,” she said.

“Let me be very clear, this is not about anyone’s sexual orientation or identity,” Jackson added. “Every resident of Brecksville deserves respect, but this is about behavior, and the behavior that took place that day was unacceptable by any standard.”

BBH Pride, or Brecksville Broadview Heights Pride, has disputed the assertion.

“While these claims are manufactured outrage, which would normally warrant no comment from any well-intentioned advocacy group, BBH Pride is compelled to address them and mostly, to defend the library we all love,” the group said in a statement.

“This was not a BBH Pride event,” the group added. “…We are not an activist group. We are not a political group. We are not categorized as such. Moms for Liberty was the only political group in attendance at the library on August 16.”

The library could confirm what happened, but has thus far refused to release video of the event.

“Per Ohio Revised Code, we’re prohibited from sharing videos and images other than with police in accordance with a subpoena, search warrant, court order, or in a case of exigent circumstances, so we do not share our videos publicly to protect the privacy of the people of all of our library customers, everybody who uses the library,” a library spokesperson told Ohio.News in a voicemail.

Jackson said policy should be debated in appropriate forums, not during story times for children.

“If adults want to debate policies, that belongs in forums like this one, not in spaces reserved for children,” Jackson said during the city council meeting. “Our children should never be used as pawns in political theater; intimidation is not inclusion,” she said.

“Let me also say this: if the roles had been reversed, the outcry would have been swift,” Jackson added. “Police would have been called, social media outrage would have been relentless. Yet our organization responded differently; we chose restraint. We did not block doors, disrupt events or frighten children. We showed that disagreement can be handled without hostility.”