6/4/25 HARTLAND DOES NOT HAVE P0RN IN THE LIBRARY & WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU
Despite public testimony from local GOP activists Hartland’s library does not contain p 0rn. These are the over 200 books that a member of Bill Bollin’s MAGA church, Floodgate, wants to see removed from the library because she doesn’t agree with the content (For context, an ex-Cromaine board member stated that he could only remember one maybe two book challenges in his 27 years as a board member). In short, the public could likely be cut off from hundreds of books in our local library soon.
MAGA evangelical pastor Bill Bolin of FloodGate ran a slate that overthrew Hartland’s public library board last election, despite the fact he has never been seen in that library previously he now runs it. He has an extraordinary amount of power over our local election outcomes through his thousand+ congregation. He was successful in kicking out deeply experienced library board members, some who have sat on Cromaine’s board for decades. Like the school boards, this will continue to happen in libraries across Livingston Co. so pay attention to your library board meetings and races before it is too late!
Christians have been sounding the alarm about Bill Bolin’s extremism for years- this New York Times best seller discusses just how dangerous he is in chapter 7 (see previous entry). In February, Bolin told the public that “for those who do not know why I ran for this position, I desire to protect children from harm that can befall them over coercive behavior. The approach I am suggesting is to change the sexual tone and nature of some library policies and practices.” He goes on to state “several controversial items” such as; removal of June Pride displays, labeling and hiding away “controversial books”, etc. Now he is making good on that promise in Hartland.
THIS IS COORDINATED AND HAPPENING ACROSS MICHIGAN
Last week in Ottawa Co. the Patmos Library had to close its doors because their dedicated and experienced library team were forced to quit due to being undermined, pressured and professionally compromised by a board that disregarded core library principles. It was stated that the Patmos library board continuously pushed for policies that targeted LGBTQ books and to restrict access to information based on their personal and political agendas. Community members at Hartland’s last library board meeting warned that this could be the near future for Cromaine while the extremist library board members insisted that “this is what the majority of the community wants.”
Fact is, out of the 44 total speakers during the ‘call to public’ since Bollin’s circus was seated this past January the majority have actually been pro diverse & inclusive literature (30) to their pro censorship speakers (14). It should also be noted that many of those mobilizing to call LGBTQ books “p 0rn” at these meetings are the same activists we saw at Hartland school’s anti-LGBTQ policy meetings, many with ties to the local GOP. This tracks with what Cromaine’s community survey results from 2024 reflected which was that it is a minority group calling for censorship of library materials (see comments).
We know that for years, County Commissioner Wes Nakagiri, whom the new library board members associates with, has publicly stated that it is his goal to “Ottawa Impact” Livingston Co. and we know that he has been working really hard with the GOP to make that a reality at the local government level. Wes has shown up to numerous Cromaine meetings and spews his popular anti-woke/culture war rhetoric. It is not surprising that we are seeing the same policies and attacks in Hartland that Ottawa is experiencing because it is the playbook.
Additionally, Hartland’s library recently voted to withdraw from the Michigan Library Association because it’s an “extremely left wing organization”
CURRENT IMPACT IN HARTLAND
Dismantling of libraries across the country via political attacks is in full swing, Hartland is just the first in our community. The new administration is closing the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) which is the only source of federal funding for public libraries. The loss of this funding would end a wide range of programs, including library workforce development, technology upgrades, and community outreach initiatives. Rural libraries like ours will struggle to maintain current levels of service without that support. This could lead to reduced hours, staff layoffs, and the elimination of important programs and services. The loss of this funding will disproportionately affect low-income and marginalized populations that rely on library services for access to information and opportunities for lifelong learning.
But perhaps most concerning is that at May’s board meeting Bollin reluctantly admitted to working with the legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to draft Cromaine’s new anti-LGBTQ policy to censor and hide books away that they deem to be sexually explicit. ADF is a designated hate group by the SPLC, they are currently working hard in the courts right now to overturn conversion therapy bans you can learn more about them in this recent easy-to-digest John Oliver episode.
Founders of the ADF have warned that gay marriage can lead to inc est, beasti ality and ped ohilia, have praised Hit ler and described gay rights as “the principal threat to religious freedom”. Attacking the rights and dignity of gay people has been at the center of ADF’s work. Their goal is to trigger as many lawsuits that can get to the supreme court as possible. They know that what they’re proposing at Cromaine likely could be challenged legally, but that is the point- they want it to go to court because ADF’s ultimate goal is eliminating LGBTQ+ American status as protected-class citizens.
BIG PICTURE
Dismantling libraries is one portion of Project 2025’s long-term goal to steep every major sphere of influence in American society in Christianity. Bolin has been scaring people around LivCo into believing that there is an enemy that's coming for their children, that they are in a holy war with them on the side of God and “others” on the side of darkness. This of course is preposterous since they are the ones trying to impose their values & religious convictions onto the rest of us. When people believe a group is morally repugnant or socially dangerous, it adds a tremendous intensity to the commitment and loyalty of their movement/mission. A matching commitment and loyalty to ending this attack on our libraries has not materialized, WE NEED YOU!
WHAT DO WE DO?
We must act now to secure the future of our libraries and intellectual freedom!
SHOW UP
6/19 at 7pm is the next board meeting at Cromaine where they will be VOTING on the labeling and sequestering policy. Support is needed!
We all have to understand where the censorship movement is going next to be able to effectively push back, which is why SAGE is holding an Emergency Community Forum on Thursday July 10th from 6-8pm in Hartland to discuss the situation and ideas on how we can work together moving forward.
Police were called to this meeting, video here