Rayla Campbell, a Republican candidate running to become the next Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, claimed the book Gender Queer—which has been the subject of numerous challenges beginning in 2021 with objections focusing on a handful of explicit illustrations—is actually "child porn."
Campbell appeared on stage at a “Back the Blue” rally in Plymouth, Massachusetts last week where she reportedly displayed a copy of the book.
Given her accusation, it was only a matter of time before the tables were turned on Campbell, and sure enough, someone decided to report her for being in possession of it.
A video posted to social media showed Campbell flipping through the pages of the book with a police officer at her side.
@marcusjohn_ Is a transphobe and homophobe running for office in MA #massachusetts #raylacambell #ma #politics #police #predator #backtheblue #blm #liberal #creep
The clip fueled rumors Campbell was detained by police and her car was searched.
Some sources on Reddit, Twitter and elsewhere claimed she'd actually been arrested.
\u201cWe are hearing that Rayla Campbell was late to her own "Back the Blue Rally" due to being detained by police. She was showing people the book "Gender Queer" and saying it was child porn, so someone reported her for possession of child porn.\u201d— Fashalert MA (@Fashalert MA) 1660580485
There was only a kernel of truth to those rumors, as Newsweek's fact-checkers found.
The news outlet contacted Captain Kevin J. Manuel of the Plymouth Police Department, who said Campbell "was not arrested by our department, nor am I aware of her being arrested anywhere else."
Manuel added Campbell "also has not been accused/investigated for any crimes in Plymouth.”
As for what actually happened, we can refer to the following statement from a Plymouth Police Department representative:
"An anonymous person accused her of holding a book containing child pornography. Officer asked to view it and she showed him the book."
"Officer found no child pornography in the book. She was not detained nor was she or her car searched."
Campbell has become rather infamous in Massachusetts for actively campaigning to censor books promoting LGBTQ+ rights and sex education for children.
Gender Queer is a graphic or comic book style memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe's journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author's exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside of the gender binary.
Though highly acclaimed, its inclusion in libraries across the United States has often been challenged by parents, based on the presence of some sexually explicit illustrations. The book is recommended for teens, 15 and up.
Campbell has been heavily criticized following the news of her brief encounter with the local police department.
\u201cRayla Campbell is lucky that "Gender Queer" isn't actually child porn, like she claims it is... Heckuva job @massgop\u201d— Rob Cohen (@Rob Cohen) 1660692927
\u201cHomophobic\u201d— Paul J Mauro (@Paul J Mauro) 1661185295
\u201cIs this irony? https://t.co/nareTqWTqH\u201d— \ud835\udc26\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25 \ud835\udc2d. \ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e (@\ud835\udc26\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25 \ud835\udc2d. \ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e) 1661184207
\u201cGOP candidate reported to police for absolute dumbest reason possible #SmartNews Joe can any sane citizen vote for such a despicable liar! https://t.co/LfkO2axUTd\u201d— john wojcik (@john wojcik) 1661194904
\u201cCouldn't get the blue to back you...\n\nhttps://t.co/Xf1tK1kOy2\u201d— Sergio Jones (@Sergio Jones) 1661186803
\u201cHappening in MA. Rayla Campbell, Republican candidate for Secretary of State. Here she was claiming a book called "Gender Queer" was child porn. She is running unopposed. Republicans win frequently in MA. Pay Atttention\nhttps://t.co/EkpF2Ncj6v\u201d— Kendra Murphy \ud83c\udf0a (@Kendra Murphy \ud83c\udf0a) 1660775342
\u201cSo I'm guessing she had to tell police that she was just lying about the book, which of course is legal.\u201d— \ud83d\udc07 Michael Zenz \ud83d\udc07 (@\ud83d\udc07 Michael Zenz \ud83d\udc07) 1661126472
\u201cperson who can't stop talking about child porn arrives at the ultimate "can't stop talking about child porn" destination\u201d— d.merrill is done with AN2022 (@d.merrill is done with AN2022) 1660749869
\u201cthis is an Arrested Development episode\u201d— Nick Zeak (@Nick Zeak) 1661136996
Campbell has long claimed children in Massachusetts schools are being exposed to sexually explicit content against parents' wishes.
Earlier this year, she stunned the state's Republican convention after she claimed schools are teaching 5-year-old children how to have oral sex.
Campbell could not provide evidence schools are actually teaching 5-year-olds about oral sex, even when pressed by reporters from The Boston Globe.
Instead, she pointed to a bill concerning sex education currently being debated by the Massachusetts state legislature that would create “medically accurate, age-appropriate” sex education programs in schools and include information about sexual orientation and gender identity.
