A staffer at Prairie du Chien Memorial Library says a Republican congressional candidate threatened and intimidated her over a gay pride display. Prairie du Chien Memorial Library page Kerrigan Trautsch told the La Crosse Tribune that Derrick Van Orden came into the library on June 17th and complained loudly about a display of books in the children’s section that address homosexuality in honor of Pride Month. Trautsch says Van Orden was angry and that he said the books offended him. She says he demanded to know who set up the display so he could teach them a lesson. Van Orden then got a library card and checked out every book from the display except for one a patron was reading. Van Orden returned the books within a week. Van Orden unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind for his seat representing western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020. He plans to run for the seat again in 2022 as Kind has announced that he won’t seek reelection.
