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(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Jury selection could take up to two weeks, with the entire trial expected to last between six and eight weeks.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 15, 9:41 AM
Trump calls trial ‘assault on America’

Former President Trump arrived at the courtroom at 9:32 a.m. flanked by members of his legal team.

In brief remarks to reporters on the way in, he called his criminal trial an “assault on America.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Trump said, marking his first comments of the day as he becomes the first former American president to face criminal charges.

“There is no case,” he said. “This is political persecution.”

Trump also attacked President Joe Biden and said the case should not go forward.

Upon entering the courtroom, he sat at the defendant’s table as his lawyers and court officers buzzed around him.

Apr 15, 9:23 AM
Members of DA’s team arrive

Several members of the Manhattan district attorney’s office have arrived in the courtroom.

Proceedings are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Apr 15, 9:06 AM
Trump arrives at courthouse

Former President Trump has arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

He stepped out of his motorcade, waved, and walked into the side entrance.

A small group of supporters and protestors both cheered and booed his arrival.

Apr 15, 8:59 AM
Trump en route to courthouse

Former President Trump is en route to the courthouse in lower Manhattan for this morning’s proceedings.

The former president left for the the courthouse from Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan.

Apr 15, 7:26 AM
Court may start with hearing on Trump testifying

Court this morning may start with a hearing over what prosecutors can ask Trump during cross-examination should he take the stand later in the trial.

The judge would hear arguments from both the people and the defense. The proceedings would then move into jury selection later in the morning.

Prosecutors have indicated they would want to cross-examine Trump on approximately “thirteen different court determinations,” including the recent civil finding that he sexually abused columnist E. Jean Carroll, the criminal conviction of the Trump Organization last year, the finding that he committed a decade of business fraud, and the dissolution of his charity, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The hearing — known as a Sandoval hearing — is standard practice before jury selection and typically occurs when a defendant signals a willingness to testify.

In a filing last month, Trump’s lawyers requested a Sandoval hearing to limit the scope of Trump’s potential cross examination, if he opted to testify.

ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.

Apr 15, 7:06 AM
Jury selection set to begin

Former President Trump will leave his Trump Tower apartment in Midtown Manhattan this morning and travel down to lower Manhattan for the first day of jury selection in his criminal hush money trial.

The proceedings come after Trump unsuccessfully tried three times last week to delay the start of the trial through the filing of appeals.

As a defendant in a criminal case, the former president will be required to be in court for the entire trial, which is expected to take six to eight weeks.

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(BALTIMORE) — The FBI is investigating whether there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The probe will look at whether the crew left port with the knowledge something could be wrong with the ship, according to a source.

On Monday morning, agents from the FBI were aboard the ship, according to the Justice Department.

“The FBI is present aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court authorized law enforcement activity,” the FBI Baltimore said in a statement.

The FBI did not offer further comment.

“Federal agents today are conducting a court-approved search of the Dali,” according to a DOJ spokesperson. “We have no further comment at this time.”

The container ship Dali struck one of the piers on the Key Bridge early on the morning of March 26, causing the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on the span. Two other workers survived the incident.

No one on the cargo ship was injured in the collision, though several containers fell into the channel.

President Joe Biden, who visited the collapse site on April 5, has pledged to fully support Baltimore’s rebuilding efforts. He said during his visit its his “intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstruction of that bridge.”

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(GUYMON, Okla.) — Police recovered two dead bodies in rural Texas amid the investigation into the disappearance of two mothers from Kansas who went missing in Oklahoma, authorities announced Sunday.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the Texas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on X that the bodies will be “transported to the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner to determine identification and cause and manner of death.”

Authorities have not identified the deceased.

Moms Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, both from Hugoton, Kansas, have been missing since March 30. The last known information about the missing women is that they were driving in Oklahoma to pick up Butler’s children for a birthday party in Kansas.

Authorities later found their vehicle abandoned in rural Oklahoma, near the Kansas border.

On Saturday, Oklahoma police announced four people were arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree in connection with Butler and Kelley’s disappearance.

The four individuals are Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44. All four remained in custody on Sunday night.

ABC News wasn’t immediately able to locate a legal representative for those charged.

ABC News’ Amanda Morris contributed to this report.

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(CHICAGO) — A child was killed and at least 10 other people were injured, including a 1-year-old and an 8-year-old, when gunfire broke out at a family gathering in Chicago, according to police.

No suspects have been arrested in the mass shooting that erupted Saturday night on the city’s South Side, and police are asking for the public’s help in identifying those who might be responsible for the shooting.

Deputy Chief Don Jerome said the shooting was likely gang-related.

“This was not a random act of violence,” Jerome said during a news conference Saturday night. “Regardless of the motivation for this incident, three innocent children were struck tonight and one of them tragically succumbed to her wounds.”

The slain victim was identified by her father as 9-year-old Ariana Molina, who police said was shot in the head. She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

Ariana’s father, Jose Molina, told ABC News that the shooting also left him and his wife with bullet wounds. He said his wife remains hospitalized with a bullet wound to the back and that he suffered wounds to his feet.

He said his daughter was “wonderful and helpful, and was everything to him.”

The shooting unfolded during a large family outdoor gathering in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said. Witnesses told police that around 9:18 p.m., a black sedan pulled up to the event and occupants opened fire on the crowd without warning.

Police said there were likely two shooters responsible for the carnage.

“The offenders’ actions, make no mistake, are horrific and unacceptable in our city,” Jerome said.

Police officers went to the scene after a ShotSpotter alert detected 18 gunshot rounds at the location, according to police.

Officers found multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds and started performing life-saving measures, authorities said.

At least three people were in critical condition, including the 1-year-old and 8-year-old boys, police said. Both children were shot in the abdomen and were being treated Sunday at Comer Children’s Hospital, according to police.

A 36-year-old man who suffered two gunshot wounds to the back was also in critical condition Sunday at the University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.

The other victims ranged in age from 19 to 40, police said.

Chicago Alderman Stephanie Coleman, who represents Chicago’s 16th Ward where the shooting occurred, released a statement Sunday calling the shooting “a cowardly crime.”

“The Back of the Yards community is united in our grief, prayers and collective mindset that we must continue to stand firm against these senseless acts of physical force,” Coleman said.

“Violence is a citywide issue that continues to falsely characterize the true essence and intrinsic nature of our neighborhoods. This tragedy has left us all heartbroken and distressed,” Coleman said.

ABC News’ Roger Lee contributed to this report.

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(SALINA, N.Y.) — A sheriff’s deputy and a police officer have died after shots were fired as they investigated a stolen vehicle in Salina, New York, officials confirmed early Monday morning.

A Syracuse police officer and an Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy were initially taken to a local hospital in critical condition following the shooting, officials said earlier. Both were pronounced dead at University Hospital, a police official said Monday morning.

The person authorities consider the prime suspect in the case was also killed.

Just after 8 p.m. ET, the officers were trying to perform a vehicle traffic stop, officials said Monday morning. When the vehicle did not stop, the officers got the license plate number and went to a location associated with it, according to the authorities.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

ABC News’ Megan Wordell and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

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(SANTA FE, N.M.) — Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez is set to be sentenced on Monday for involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set.

She faces up to 18 months in prison for the felony conviction.

Her attorneys asked for probation in a sentencing memorandum filed last week, citing her “complete lack of prior criminal history” and “relative youth.” Prosecutors meanwhile requested a sentence of 18 months with the designation of serious violent offender due to her “extreme recklessness” while working as an armorer on the Rust set.

The Santa Fe County jury deliberated for under three hours on March 6 before reaching a split verdict. They found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted her of tampering with evidence in the case.

Prosecutors told jurors that Gutierrez “repeatedly” failed to maintain proper firearm safety and that her negligence led to the death of Hutchins, who was shot by actor Alec Baldwin, while the defense countered that the 26-year-old is a “convenient scapegoat” during closing arguments in the trial.

Gutierrez was remanded into custody following the verdict.

Defense attorneys filed an emergency motion for a new trial and release last month, arguing that the jury instructions could lead to a non-unanimous verdict. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied the motion.

In their sentencing memorandum, her attorneys argued that Gutierrez “has endured and will continue to endure collateral consequences far harsher than most defendants ever must face.”

“This conviction and press deluge will forever impact her life going forward, including with job prospects, and simply trying to lead a ‘normal’ life again someday,” her attorneys wrote.

Gutierrez feels” incredibly saddened and heart broken by what happened on that tragic day” on the Rust set, they wrote.

Her attorneys asked for a conditional discharge, wherein the court would place her on probation without entering an adjudication of guilt. The defense argued conditional discharge would be “adequate to punish the offense, but not more serious than necessary to serve the underlying sentencing goals.”

In a response filed last week, prosecutors said they opposed a conditional discharge due to Gutierrez’s “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions.” They argued that her jail calls since being incarcerated demonstrated that she “continues to deny responsibility and blame others.” They said the calls also showed she has complained about the negative effects of the incident “while never expressing genuine remorse at any time.”

“Stunningly, Ms. Gutierrez requested during jail calls that her legal team request that Ms. Hutchins’ husband and son be contacted and asked to speak on her behalf at her sentencing,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors further noted that while she is eligible for a conditional discharge, she still faces another felony charge for allegedly hiding a firearm from security at a local bar.

The state asked that Gutierrez be sentenced to 18 months with a designation of serious violent offender due to her recklessness, or five years probation if the court found that a suspended or deferred sentence was appropriate.

Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw in a church on the set of the Western film on Oct. 21, 2021, when the Colt .45 revolver fired a live round, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who suffered a non-life-threatening injury.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors presented evidence they said showed Gutierrez was responsible for bringing six live rounds onto the set — and did not discover them for 12 days before the deadly shooting by failing to perform industry-standard safety practices.

“This is not a case where Hannah Gutierrez made one mistake, and that one mistake was accidental — putting a live round into that gun,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey told jurors during her closing argument. “This case is about constant, neverending, safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being and nearly killed another.”

Morrissey told jurors Gutierrez failed to maintain firearms safety on the set, “making a fatal accident willful and foreseeable.”

She showed jurors stills of footage from the set of actors pointing firearms at other crew members, including a minor actor, as well as Gutierrez pointing one at her own face. She also showed photographs of what experts determined to be live rounds in holsters and containers on the set as early as Oct. 10, 2021.

Morrissey said that meant Gutierrez was not checking dummy rounds to ensure they were not live rounds — such as by shaking them — and that there was a game of “Russian roulette” every time an actor had a gun loaded with dummies. She also said they have “mountains of circumstantial evidence” that Gutierrez brought the live rounds onto the set.

“I’m not telling you Hannah Gutierrez intended to bring live rounds on set,” Morrissey said. “I’m saying she was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless.”

Hutchins died from loss of blood and a lethal wound to her lung, Morrissey said.

“The astonishing lack of diligence with regard to gun safety is without question a significant cause of the death of Halyna Hutchins,” she said.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles said during his closing argument there was a rush to judgment and that detectives didn’t conduct a thorough investigation of the shooting. Gutierrez was made a “convenient fall person,” he said.

He also argued that the New Mexico Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s investigation into the shooting found that the management “demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety” and was responsible for the safety on the set.

Gutierrez had additionally been charged with tampering with evidence, with prosecutors alleging she handed off a small bag of cocaine at her hotel on the day of the shooting after her interview with law enforcement. The jury found her not guilty.

Gutierrez did not testify in her own defense.

Baldwin has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. His trial is scheduled to start in July.

His attorneys last month filed a motion to dismiss the charge, accusing prosecutors of “unethical disparagement” of the actor and “violating nearly every rule in the book” to secure a grand jury indictment.

In a response to the motion filed earlier this month, prosecutors claimed Baldwin missed concerns about Gutierrez and “compromised safety” on the set by demanding the crew and armorer work faster.

“The combination of Hannah Gutierrez’s negligence and inexperience and Alec Baldwin’s complete lack of concern for the safety of those around him would prove deadly for Halyna Hutchins,” prosecutors stated.

Marlowe Sommer has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss the charge.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Severe thunderstorms may bring damaging winds from the Great Lakes to the Northeast on Sunday, with a more widespread threat in the Heartland early in the week. Sunday afternoon, strong to severe storms are expected to flare up along a cold front that will sweep across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast. Most of the action looks to be later in the afternoon and into the evening hours.

From Ohio to Connecticut — including nearly all of Pennsylvania — the Storm Prediction Center is watching the chance for severe thunderstorms.

Damaging winds remains the biggest concern, but small to moderate hail and an isolated tornado or two are also possible.

On Monday, the severe weather threat really ramps up in the Plains. Cities like Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas, are looking at an enhanced risk for widespread severe weather, mainly on Monday evening and into the overnight hours.

So far this year, severe weather reports are lagging slightly behind average, but the gap is closing after all the activity in the past week.

Tuesday brings another day of severe weather, with the focus shifting slightly eastward.

From Texas to Wisconsin, severe weather could cause trouble for millions in the Central U.S. Prior to storms firing up, temperatures will soar well above average across the western half of the country. This wave of warmth will stretch its way east over the weekend into early next week.

Daytime highs rising between 10 to 30 degrees above average — and possibly higher in some places — will impact a large swath of the nation over the next few days, with parts of the Plains seeing the biggest departures from normal.

Near record-high temperatures will be possible.

Cooler air will make its way back in over the Rockies Sunday into Monday, dragging temperatures back near and below average there.

Yet, conditions will remain unseasonably warm across the Central U.S. as the warm air spreads farther east, covering the eastern two-thirds of the country. Even though the Plains will still see the biggest departures Sunday into Monday, temperatures will still climb 10 to 15 degrees above normal across portions of the Mississippi River Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and the Carolinas. Temperatures will moderate a bit midweek, but will still remain on the warmer side of normal across the southern U.S., and east of the Mississippi River.

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(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) — Twenty-six barges broke loose and floated uncontrolled down the Ohio River Friday night, according to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Office.

The West End Bridge was closed in both directions and rail traffic was shut down on the rail bridge to Brunot Island due to the loose barges, before reopening on Saturday.

Of those that broke loose, 23 were loaded with dry cargo, such as coal, and three were empty. The barges are owned or operated by the Campbell Transportation Company.

There are no reported injuries, but Peggy’s Marina sustained extensive damage.

Of the barges, 11 were located and pinned against the river bank by Brunot Island, 14 continued down the river and six went over the Emsworth Dam.

The company that owns the barges told ABC affiliate WTAE in a statement that “the incident occurred under high water conditions on the rivers resulting in strong currents due to flooding in the area.”

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(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) — When Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, the former vice president of student affairs at Lincoln University in Missouri, died by suicide on Jan. 8, the tragedy brought attention to the difficulties and obstacles that many Black women report experiencing in higher education.

Candia-Bailey, who received a termination letter from the historically Black university on Jan. 3, had previously accused the school’s president, John Moseley, of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

“It was shocking,” Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, told “Nightline.” “And I think there was a lot of fear that if the experiences that Black women are going through are not being paid attention to, that they can have really devastating results.”Moseley was reinstated to his position last month after a third-party investigation found no evidence of substantiated bullying claims by the university president. He’d been on a voluntary paid administrative leave.

In a press release, the board of curators from the university said that an “exhaustive, independent investigation” found that “Dr. Candia-Bailey’s claims that she was bullied by President Moseley were unsubstantiated.”

The press release added, “Specifically, when directly asked in the course of this investigation, no witnesses reported that they had ever witnessed President Moseley engage in bullying – and all denied having ever personally felt bullied by President Moseley.”

ABC News attempted to contact the university but have not received a response.

In a statement, Moseley said “our thoughts and prayers have been and continue to be with Dr. Bailey’s family, friends, and our campus community.”

Moseley added, “There is not a lot I can say about the independent report and its findings, but I am grateful to the Board of Curators for their faith in me and their vote of confidence.”

Candia-Bailey’s loved ones are still grappling with the loss of the woman they affectionately called “Bonnie.”

“My confidence in the thoroughness of the investigation is zero,” said Omega Tillman, a close friend to Candia-Bailey. “Bonnie was not a person to mince words or, if she felt bullied, if she felt unheard, unseen, then that’s what it was. It’s frustrating.”

For 20 years, Candia-Bailey had worked to climb the professional ladder in academia. In 2016, she wrote a dissertation on the challenges that Black women face in academia.

Her dissertation is titled, “My Sister, Myself: The Identification of Sociocultural Factors that Affect the Advancement of African-American Women into Senior-Level Administrative Positions.”

“Attempts need to be addressed to look at how African American women can increase and advance in higher education,” Candia-Bailey wrote in the dissertation. “These factors also link to being treated like the help, the outsider within, keeping them away from the table.”

Candia-Bailey’s death brought shock and sadness, prompting social media videos showing Black women sharing their own frustrations and experiences.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women and other women of color face harsher evaluations at work due to harmful stereotypes. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, a clinical psychologist, studies how negative stereotypes affect the mental health of Black women. According to her, Black women are often stereotyped as “angry Black women, strong Black women, and hypersexual Black women.”

“The No. 1 thing that I believe Black women can do to protect their mental health is to establish very clear boundaries,” Burnett-Zeigler said. “Being a strong Black woman can come with taking on too much, feeling like you just can’t take it anymore and often we don’t recognize it until it’s gone too far,” she added.

Hannah-Jones said it is a concerning trend that despite being highly qualified for leadership positions, Black women are often subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism once they assume their roles.

“It’s a struggle to be respected, it’s a struggle to be heard. There’s so many obstacles, and often the higher you ascend, the lonelier it gets,” Hannah-Jones said.

Recent data from the American Association of University Professors reveals that Black women represent only 2.4 percent of tenured professors in colleges and universities nationwide.

“Tenure is the highest status that you can achieve at a university,” Hannah-Jones said. “So Black women get hired, but they aren’t getting tenure, and they aren’t being moved through that process.”

Amidst the tragedy, the next generation of black women academics are forging their own community and advocating for change.

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(BOISE, Id. ) — Librarians across the country say they’ve become targets in the ongoing battles over books – but the attacks have escalated beyond just calls to remove materials from library shelves.

Several librarians told ABC News they’re facing threats of physical violence, lawsuits and criminal charges for having what some say is “inappropriate” content in libraries and schools where children can access the materials.

“We had people threatening to burn down our building,” said Maegan Hanson, a library director in a small Idaho town.

Hanson’s library had a book on display called “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe. It’s one of the most targeted books in the country because of its LGBTQ content and depictions of sex.

When parts of the book were posted to Facebook, Hanson said the library began receiving online threats. She said fear began to set in among the small crew who work at the library – some of whom are teens and young adults.

“We are in this service because we love the communities that we are a part of and the misinformation and the misrepresentation about what we do hasn’t stopped us from doing our jobs – it just makes it harder,” Hanson said.

The Idaho Library Association, which Hanson is a part of, is concerned that tensions and threats will only get worse now that Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed library content restrictions into law on Wednesday.

House Bill 710 bars schools or public libraries from making materials available to children that are “harmful to minors,” “depict nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse,” or include “detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse.”

The law states these books would need to be moved to an “adults only section,” and allows anyone to sue if schools and libraries don’t restrict access to books that are believed to be harmful to children.

“For children, libraries open doors to reading and intellectual exploration, helping them become lifelong learners. It’s no wonder the vast majority of Idahoans say they value libraries and trust librarians,” said Little in his letter after signing the law.

“I share the cosponsors’ desire to keep truly inappropriate library materials out of the hands of minors,” said Little, adding that he also has concerns about the content on minors’ cellphones.

Little vetoed previous efforts to restrict library content, saying past legislation would have forced libraries to shutter their doors by forcing them to pay $2,500 for damages if they made “obscene” materials accessible.

HB710 will make libraries pay $250, on top of other incurred fees or damages, if they violate the law. Little said he was moved to sign HB710 because it also allowed librarians to avoid legal action and fees if they addressed concerns about materials in a certain time frame.

In Little’s letter, he states that literacy is still a top priority for him: “Libraries play such a crucial role in helping our youngsters to read early on.”

For the small libraries of Idaho, directors say hundreds of dollars in lawsuits over books could come at the expense of some library resources and education programming – including early literacy programs, technology support, access to case workers and more.

Hanson’s library had a total operating income of $279,452 in 2021 for the year’s staffing and programming, according to the Idaho Commission for Libraries.

“We have a high poverty population in Idaho and various rural communities, so for these people who are lacking in resources, this content is important,” Hanson said.

Supporters of HB710 argue it’s just a book relocation policy and should not impact libraries that don’t have “inappropriate” content or properly move content out of sections for people under 18.

But some librarians fear that a plethora of material could fall victim to this definition of obscene content, including classical pieces of literature and other popular books, and lead to censorship.

“There’s absolutely going to be the chilling effect of people being so afraid of ordering or having any sort of book that could possibly offend somebody,” said Huda Shaltry, a library director in Boise, Idaho.

“A well-curated public library has something in it to offend everyone,” she said, explaining that having a diverse collection with a wide range of perspectives and subjects available to all is vital to a public library system that serves all.

“[Book restrictions are] very directed to the LGBTQIA+ community but, ultimately, you can make the argument that the Bible’s offensive. There goes the Bible,” Hanson said. “‘50 Shades of Grey,’ OK, it’s offensive. ‘Game of Thrones,’ it’s offensive. Where exactly does it stop? ‘Harry Potter,’ it’s offensive because it teaches witchcraft – It really impedes on people’s First Amendment rights.”

Several renowned, award-winning books have been added to banned books lists for being “offensive,” including “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and more, according to the American Library Association.

What some might find offensive, Shaltry and Hanson argue, could be helpful to someone else – be it about representation, sexuality, experience with abuse, or other topics, they say.

Shaltry, who says “being a librarian is a calling and not a career” for her, said critics have made hurtful claims and accusations about librarians for displaying content that may contain sex education or sexual content.

“I’m trying not to cry,” said Shaltry in an interview. “The words of being a pedophile and a groomer or stuff – I never thought that I would ever hear any of this stuff.”

Idaho librarians aren’t alone in their challenges – local reports show that libraries nationwide have received bomb threats, others say they’ve been fired for not removing certain books from shelves, and others have been defunded because of content and programming.

​​West Virginia libraries are also facing growing challenges.

If the state’s House Bill 4654 becomes law, employees could be charged with a felony, fined up to $25,000, and sentenced to up to five years in a correctional facility if found guilty of allowing a minor to access material that could be what the state considers to be “obscene.”

“What this bill does do is stop obscene and pornographic material, sexually explicit materials from being available to children in public taxpayer-funded spaces,” said State Delegate Elliott Pritt, a Republican, in a February hearing, according to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

The president of the American Library Association has denounced such legislative efforts, calling it “organized censorship.”

“Falsely claiming that these works are subversive, immoral, or worse, these groups induce elected and non-elected officials to abandon constitutional principles, ignore the rule of law, and disregard individual rights to promote government censorship of library collections,” ALA said in a statement objecting to such restrictions.

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