FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A former Wyoming library director who was fired amid an uproar over books with sexual content and LGBTQ+ themes that some people complained were inappropriate for youngsters and who sought their removal from youth shelves will be paid $700,000 after settling a lawsuit.

Terri Lesley was fired as the library system director in northeastern Wyoming's Campbell County in 2023, two years into the book dispute at the library in Gillette. Lesley sued last spring over her termination and reached the settlement with county officials Wednesday.

"I do feel vindicated. It’s been a rough road, but I will never regret standing up for the First Amendment,” Lesley said.

A major coal-mining area on the Western high plains, Campbell County is among the most conservative areas in one

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