© 2026. The Trustees of Indiana University
Copyright Complaints
1229 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
News, Arts and Culture from WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

ACLU Sues After Man Banned From Library Over Trump Poem

The Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Jackson County because a Seymour man has been banned from the public library.

Richard England says he was banned from the library in November after he wrote what his attorney called a “short and unoffensive” poem about President Trump. England left the poem for a library employee with whom he was friends.

“When that individual was not there, he left it on a basket in the circulation desk,” said attorney Gavin Rose.

“When he got home, he had a voicemail from an officer with the Seymour police department saying the library essentially trespassed him,” Rose added.

The lawsuit, filed in Indiana’s Southern District court, asks a judge to lift the ban.

“He doesn’t have internet or cable at home because he’s on a fixed income, so he gets his entertainment through the library,” said Rose.

The chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners has not responded to a request for comment.

Dkt 1-1 - Exhibit 1 Poem by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd

Adam Pinsker is a reporter and multi-media journalist with WTIU and WFIU news. He was previously a reporter at WFTX in Cape Coral, Florida and KTUU in Anchorage, Alaska. In his spare time Adam likes working out, watching football, basketball and baseball and exploring Indiana's outdoors.