Idaho
Idaho high school grad refuses to shake superintendent’s hand, drops banned book at his feet during ceremony
An Idaho high school graduate took an unusual form of protest at her graduation when she offered a book to the school district’s superintendent, who had banned it months earlier.
Annabelle Jenkins was one of 44 graduates to have her name called during the Idaho Fine Arts Academy graduation ceremony on May 23.
After she shook hands with administrators on the stage, Jenkins paused in front of West Ada School District Superintendent Derek Bub and pulled out “The Handmaid’s Tale” from the sleeve of her graduation gown.
Bub stood firm with his arms crossed and declined the book, leaving Jenkins to drop it at his feet as she moved across the stage.
The graphic novel version, written by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault, was one of 10 the school district banned from its libraries earlier in the academic year over its graphic imagery, deemed not suitable for the student body.
Jenkins says she and some of her classmates have been outspoken about the ban because it was done without input from the students or staff and with little transparency.
“My main issue with this particular situation was that the teacher that was contesting it never read the book.”
Jenkins says her exhibit was in response to the school district’s actions towards the student body throughout the school year regarding the books.
“It was a gesture and you’re going to receive a gesture. If you want to make a bigger show out of it be my guest,” the graduate told KTVB.
Following the ceremony, Jenkins shared a video of her stunt to TikTok, which has been seen over 24.3 million times.
“I have never desired to go viral, but if I was ever going to, I’m glad that it is for something so deeply important to me,” Jenkins told the Idaho Statesman. “More than anything, I just want people to talk about it. I want to generate conversation.”
“It is a book with a lot of heavy themes, and it has some very difficult scenes to get through. It does deal with a lot of sexual themes. I believe a word that I’ve heard tossed around about that book was ‘pornographic,’ which I very strongly disagree with.”
Jenkins’ main issue with the ban stems from the fact the teacher who contested the book in the first place, never read it, according to the graduate.
In December, the Idaho Fine Arts Academy principal removed the book from the school’s library as the adaptation of the dystopian society featured illustrations of sexual violence, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Idaho Fine Arts Academy offers grades 6-12, where the students must audition to attend, and is located 11 miles west of Boise.
The school determined there was no system to “determine which students at various grade levels could access specific books,” district spokesperson Niki Scheppers told the newspaper.
Following the book’s initial removal from the shelves, the school district set up a review team, consisting of the chief academic officer, an English teacher and a middle school and high school principal.
The team determined to ban 10 books, including the graphic novel, “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Maas and “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen.
“I think the graphic novel is a very tasteful way of adapting it, and that’s not to say there aren’t scenes in there that are difficult for some students or some readers, I just don’t think that’s a reason for it to be banned,” Jenkins told KTVB.
She says she read the “Handmaid’s Tale” when she was in 7th or 8th grade and the graphic novel adaptation when she was a sophomore in high school.
“It is a book with a lot of heavy themes, and it has some very difficult scenes to get through. It does deal with a lot of sexual themes. I believe a word that I’ve heard tossed around about that book was ‘pornographic,” which I very strongly disagree with.”
The school district slammed Jenkins’ protest, saying it “overshadowed the celebratory occasion.”
“While we respect the right to voice concerns, it is important to maintain the focus on the achievements and hard work of our students during such significant milestones,” Scheppers told the Statesman.
Idaho
Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho
Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
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