500 ask Pierce County Library to cancel Sheriff Swank’s events amid controversy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Over 500 signed petition to demand Pierce County Library cancel Sheriff Swank events.
- Board heard mixed public testimony as library meeting-room use was contested.
- Critics said Swank’s statements make groups feel unsafe; Swank defended his events.
Over 500 people have signed a petition demanding that the Pierce County Library System cancel a series of events hosted by Sheriff Keith Swank, leading to controversy about who is allowed to use the libraries’ meeting rooms and for what purposes.
The controversy was a topic at the library system Board of Trustees meeting at the South Hill Library Feb. 11, where four people spoke in favor of the sheriff’s events and six opposed them in public comments addressed in-person to the board.
The sheriff’s office announced a series of monthly “checking in with the sheriff” meetings at libraries throughout Pierce County in a Facebook post last month. Sheriff Swank will host 12 events, one for each month of the year, and he invites “all community members to have an opportunity to meet with him, ask questions, and learn about what’s going on in Pierce County,” the post said.
Those opposed to Swank’s events told the board that his comments on social media made them feel unsafe and antagonize certain groups, such as immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals. Those in favor of the events said that Swank had earned their respect and that his first meeting in January went well.
Swank, reached via phone Feb. 11, said that he is committed to holding the library events and that he wanted to host them at the libraries because they’re public spaces and free to use.
“I’ll continue to have these meetings,” he said. “I mean, that’s what I’m supposed to do, go out and talk to people and learn about their concerns. But the haters are going to hate, I suppose.”
He hosted monthly “breakfast with the sheriff” meetings last year and protesters disrupted them, he told The News Tribune.
“ ... there are people out there continuing to try to silence my speech, and it won’t happen,” he said. “I won’t be silenced.”
Swank regularly posts his opinions on his X account, often linking to news articles and posting negative comments about transgender people and his beliefs about federal immigration enforcement, among other subjects.
“Do you think it’s time to ban trans people from owning guns?” he posted on Sept. 1.
“The more you obstruct and attack ICE, the more officers will be sent,” he posted on Jan. 20, with a link to an article about Seattle schools sheltering in place after reports of federal immigration enforcement activity. “YOU WILL NOT WIN. ICE WILL WIN. FULL STOP!”
The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission began investigating a complaint in September related to Swank’s social media posts, The News Tribune reported.
Pierce County Library System Executive Director Gretchen Caserotti told The News Tribune in an email Wednesday evening that PCLS offers public meeting rooms “to all community members on an equal basis,” per their board policy, and that use of a room does not mean the library system is endorsing any person, group or viewpoint.
Library staff follow internal guidelines for how to process meeting room requests, which Caserotti shared with The News Tribune. According to the guidelines, the decision to allow use of a meeting room “will not be based on the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.” Reservations are granted on a first-come, first-served basis and library-sponsored programs take priority, the guidelines say.
She added that the library system is balancing two values that can seem conflicting.
“At Pierce County Library, we hold two core values that can sometimes feel in tension: creating welcoming, inclusive spaces for everyone, and protecting the principles of free expression and intellectual freedom,” Caserotti wrote. “Both are essential to who we are ... . This is one of those moments where we hold both truths at once.”
She also wrote that the library system welcomes public input and values “people using their voices, petitioning their government, and exercising their right to assemble, all activities protected under the First Amendment.”
Board Chair Neesha Patel gave similar comments to Caserotti’s at the meeting Wednesday and said that they “cannot legally deny a reservation based on a person’s views.”
The Tacoma chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America posted on Instagram Feb. 2 about the petition and their plans to host a rally before the board meeting Feb. 11.
“The Pierce County Library cannot simultaneously make welcoming, safe and inclusive spaces while arranging events for a person in power who has stated that he is against inclusion, does not support the safety of or value everyone and is actively in favor of seeing harm come to members of the community,” the petition said.
It went on to say that “Swank’s presence at the library is a direct threat to the safety of both the public and staff” based on his social media posts and accused the library system of “attempting to remain neutral in an era of widespread oppression, acting as if by not acknowledging its existence it will cease to exist or that you can hide from those who would harm you and those around you simply by looking away.”
The petition had 542 signatures as of Thursday morning.
Efforts to reach the Tacoma DSA chapter via Instagram Wednesday were not immediately successful.
Swank posted on his X account Wednesday, noting the upcoming meeting at the South Hill Library and encouraging people to attend and voice their support for his community events.
“Some freedom haters are going to go there to demand the library system cancels my pre-scheduled community meetings,” he wrote. “If you are available go there and tell them you want the sheriff meetings. The radicals want to silence your voice.”
Those who spoke in support of the sheriff’s events said that they got a good impression of his first event Jan. 10 and that they value the chance to learn more about and communicate with the sheriff.
“So all this is is a meet-and-greet with the sheriff,” one resident said. “I approve of it. It’s an educational question-and-answer event. The library is an educational facility, so there should be nothing wrong with educating oneself as to what the sheriff department does.”
“Library in this country is the symbol of free speech, and I feel that politicians, no matter if they’re popular or unpopular ... should have the right to use this room or any room in the library as a place to conduct a meeting where they can talk one on one with their public, because there are some big issues and ... where else are you going to do it?” another resident said.
Those who spoke against the sheriff’s events criticized Swank for his statements about groups such as immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, and said that his events would make these groups feel unsafe at the libraries.
“I want you to think about why would you risk making the library less safe for immigrant and LGBT community members for the sake of appeasing a sheriff who really doesn’t listen to us,” one speaker said.
Another speaker questioned how Swank was able to reserve meeting rooms for the entire year, saying that others are limited to reserving eight weeks in advance. Asked whether Sheriff Swank was able to reserve meeting rooms farther out than other groups, PCLS Executive Director Caserotti noted that the library system’s internal guidelines say that meeting rooms can be reserved up to eight weeks in advance, but “exceptions may be made for meetings offered to the public by government agencies.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2026 at 11:26 AM.
