‘A specter of fear’: Claims about Idaho ‘harmful’ books rooted in QAnon conspiracy theory

BOISE – Pedophilia. Child sex trafficking. Increased child molestation.

Arguments in favor of an Idaho bill to restrict obscene library material to children seemed familiar to those following conspiracy theories.

Several supporters of a bill to allow lawsuits against libraries in public hearings have cited unfounded concerns about sex traffickers who “condition” children through books or the availability of explicit material at libraries increasing the likelihood of pedophilia, “rape, murder and child molestation.” Sociologists told the Idaho Statesman they recognized where they’d heard these false claims about libraries before – in a conspiracy theory about child sex trafficking, linked to formerly fringe credos on the right that have become mainstream in recent years.

George Lundskow, a sociology professor who studies conspiracy theories at Grand Valley State University, said some of the claims mirrored aspects of the conspiracy theory QAnon, developed in 2017, which dictates that a satanic cabal of world leaders is conspiring to harm and traffic children, and that former President Donald Trump has been working to stop them. QAnon became mainstream on the right in recent years, Lundskow said, and is now “widely accepted.”

Lundskow said the latest conspiracy theories about LGBTQ+ people grooming children to either become gay or transgender themselves, or become objects of exploitation, “is descended from that long line of conspiracies.”

Another sociologist who studies conspiracy theories, Christopher Conner of the University of Missouri, Columbia, told the Statesman that conspiracies about LGBTQ+ people have grown as their visibility has increased.

“There’s this fear of … how do these people fit in?” Conner said. “All that’s really happening is people are starting to realize that gay people exist.”

House Bill 710, the latest version of the bill, would allow parents and community members to sue libraries – including private school libraries – for unlimited civil damages if they believe a library or school board erred in deciding that a book wasn’t harmful. Lawsuits would be allowed 30 days after a person files written notice with the library asking that they move a book to an adult-only section.

The bill draws on Idaho’s obscenity laws and incorporates the Miller test, a legal standard to determine what materials are obscene. That includes materials that appeal “to the prurient interest of minors as judged by the average person” and that depict sexual activity “patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community.” The state’s obscenity law exempts books with literary or educational value.

Librarians and library supporters at a Monday public hearing called the effort a “bounty” bill that would incentivize libraries to remove materials that do not meet the Miller test’s standards because of the financial threat, and could require libraries to renovate their buildings to create restricted areas for adults.

“It seems to be trying to raise a specter of fear in what is one of our few shared democratic spaces,” Jenny Emery Davidson, executive director of the Community Library in Ketchum, said at the public hearing.

At hearings earlier this year, some proponents of limiting access to books at libraries repeated claims that “harmful” materials available to children at libraries could make them more vulnerable – or more likely to become – sex offenders.

“These books act in concert with sex traffickers intending to sexualize children, making it easier for children to be victimized,” regardless of the authors’ intent, Karen Jensen, a supporter of the bill, said at a hearing. She added that sex traffickers “condition” children with pornography to make them more compliant. Jensen could not be reached for comment.

Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, told the Statesman by phone that “everybody has a reason for which they arrive at the position they hold.” He said his bill is necessary because library staff have refused to comply with repeated complaints from residents about books they want removed from libraries. Libraries that don’t have materials like these have nothing to worry about, he added.

He said that patrons who want to sue libraries will risk paying all legal fees if they lose and that his bill does not ban books.

“They can have the material, just relocate it,” he said.

National groups target library books

Some arguments across the country in favor of banning LGBTQ+-themed books have been rooted in the same conspiracy theories.

PEN America, an organization that advocates for free expression, has identified at least 50 groups around the country pushing to censor or ban books in libraries. The organization’s director, Jonathan Friedman, told the New York Times in 2021 that “there’s definitely some kind of QAnon element taking place here.”

Of the eight supporters of the bill who spoke at a January hearing, six mentioned unfounded concerns about pedophilia or child sex trafficking. Rachelle Ottosen, chair of a North Idaho library district board, said she feared that libraries promote prostitution, pedophilia and bestiality.

“We’re talking about the sexual exploitation of minors through sexually explicit, obscene materials that are in libraries and schools in Idaho,” another supporter of the bill, Nina Beesley, told the legislative committee, claiming that “rape, murder and child molestation” increase in areas with such materials. Beesley pointed the Statesman in an email to a booklet on the harms of pornography produced by United Families International, an anti-gay organization based in Arizona.

Jacquelyn Davidson, a Republican precinct committeewoman for the Ada County GOP, said she’s seen books that promote “homosexuality and gender dysphoria.” Davidson did not respond to a request for comment.

Lundskow said it may well be true that graphic sexual depictions can harm children, but he doesn’t think anyone on either side of the debate wants children to view that kind of media.

“The argument might be over what counts as sexually explicit,” Lundskow said. “If you tell a story that has a gay character in it, is that sexually explicit?”

A Meridian librarian, Isabella Burgess, challenged the notion that libraries give children books that harm them.

“The problems that they are mentioning don’t exist, and that’s why I did not expect to have to testify in front of a House committee to secure my livelihood,” Burgess said, noting that librarians recommend books to patrons if they’re asked.

Crane, who co-sponsored the bill, told lawmakers last month that proponents who fear negative impacts from these materials should also be represented in legislation.

“One side may want certain materials in the library, and the other side may not,” Crane said. “Both are taxpayers, both have a vested interest in the materials at the library, both have different worldviews. What we have to do is compromise.”