Amanda Jones Update: The Case Moves Forward

We recently learned (through the news, believe it or not) that Amanda Jones had been awarded approximately $50,000 in attorney fees in her ongoing defamation suit against Citizens for a New Louisiana. While the headline is sensational, the legal reality is considerably less dramatic. In fact, it’s unfortunate that the only legacy news representative we heard from was WBRZ’s investigative reporter, Bess Casserleigh. Even so, she waited four hours after her article was published to half-heartedly email, “I know it’s a couple of weeks old, but do you have any comment on Judge Sledge’s decision in Amanda Jones’ suit against you?”

The attorney fee ruling changes almost nothing about where the case actually stands. Public statements declaring victory are curious, considering we received a similar attorney-fee ruling for approximately $25,000 several years ago—and yet here we all still are. This isn’t the first attorney-fee award in this litigation, and it likely won’t be the last procedural milestone mistaken for the end of the case.

To be clear, and as I told Ms. Casserleigh, Judge Sledge has been doing a great job of meticulously following the law from the beginning. Her interlocutory ruling was the expected outcome of a judge who correctly interprets Louisiana’s provisions on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). This decision has been the known procedural requirement since the First Circuit remanded us back to the district court to sort out some particulars of the case. More on that in a moment.

I also let Ms. Casserleigh know how much I appreciated Judge Sledge for denying Jones’s gag order, which triggered the SLAPP four years ago. That ruling has allowed (and perhaps inspired) us to continue working to clean up public libraries across the state.

We’re Winning the Library Wars

A $50,000 ruling sounds like a big deal. However, since Judge Sledge’s denial of Jones’ gag order, our work to remove the vulgar books from the Livingston Public Library Children’s section has been a famous success. Even the American Library Association has lamented our cleaning out these vulgar materials aimed at children. Then-President Emily Drabinski said: “Michael Lunsford and his Citizens for a New Louisiana now has [sic] full support from the Louisiana state government. However, opposition to [his] extremism is building in the state thanks to librarians and their communities.”

Ironically, it was Jones’s lawsuit that brought unprecedented international attention to the issue. By 2023, Louisiana had had enough. That’s when Senator Heather Cloud‘s bipartisan “Protecting Innocence” bill was signed into law by none other than Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards! It’s now in every law book in Louisiana under LARS 25:225.

Recently, I spoke with Senator Cloud about the difficulties she endured while passing this bill. She remarked that the process changed her — it reinforced that evil exists, and we as Christians are called to confront it head-on. Even after that legislation passed, bunkers of resistance remained across the state for years. Then, in February of this year (2026), Attorney General Liz Murrill had had enough, too. She told librarians — in no uncertain terms — to move the vulgar kids’ books or else.

Now, books like Let’s Talk About It are finally gone in Jones’s own Livingston parish — and numerous other parishes, too. Longtime readers may even remember that we discovered and removed X-Rated videos that the Livingston library was making available to children through a taxpayer-funded app called Kanopy. Despite ceaseless, sometimes vicious, opposition from the “anti-censorship” crowd, all of that and more has been cleaned up and removed.

Where We Are in the Legal Fight

Originally, Jones asked the court to block us from speaking or writing publicly about library issues. We told the court that it was a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech (a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or SLAPP). The judge agreed and threw it out. Jones appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, which, to everyone’s surprise, granted Jones “her day in court.”

When the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed that ruling and returned the case for further proceedings, it triggered a statutory obligation to award attorney fees. Thankfully, at least to my knowledge, we remain free to continue this important work of cleaning up the state’s public library system.

The next step is to return to the district court and determine whether it was defamatory for us to publicly ask why the President of the Louisiana School Librarians’ Association (Jones at the time) stood up at a public meeting to defend vulgar children’s books. It may be helpful to note that during the earlier SLAPP proceedings, Judge Sledge concluded that the statements at issue were not defamatory.

I’m Right Where I’m Supposed to Be

To our supporters, fear not: we have a team of attorneys, along with various staff and private investigators, all dedicated to our success. During the four years this litigation has been pending, our important work has continued. While this lawsuit is not yet over, major policy reforms have been enacted, many libraries have changed their cultures and practices, and statewide decency standards governing children’s collections are very different today than they were when this lawsuit began.

You should also know that I willingly stepped into this battle to protect our children’s innocence. Long before Citizens for a New Louisiana existed, activists attempted to pressure my employer into firing me for speaking out. That experience taught me something important: most ordinary citizens can’t withstand that kind of coordinated pressure alone. One of the reasons this organization exists is so that those attacks are directed at me rather than at parents who simply want to speak up for their children.

So, if you’ve already been supporting our work and praying for the strength of my resolve, please continue doing so. As we continue this fight, I expect this litigation to continue demanding time, patience, and resolve. Those prayers and your support have sustained us over the past four years, and I would be remiss not to express my gratitude as they continue to bolster us as we see this case through to its conclusion.

“Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.”

Even the American Library Association has recognized the power of our work. Further, Emily Drabinski’s statement is a clear warning to parents that activist librarians remain under ALA direction to continue pushing the envelope in library children’s sections.

If you’ve already been a part of the effort to clean up our public library systems (and all the other things we work on), thank you for your faithful support. Let me reassure you that any financial contributions you have made to Citizens for a New Louisiana continue to fund our investigative work, public education efforts, and policy advocacy across Louisiana — not lawsuits. The litigation is being handled separately and does not affect our ability to continue this work.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.” I promise to remain steadfast in this fight for children’s innocence. This organization allows parents, volunteers, and local citizens to stand up for their communities without having to become the principal target themselves. If you haven’t already, will you add your voice to mine by supporting this incredibly important work? You can join as a sustaining member here or make a one-time or recurring donation here.

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