Oregon social worker Roderick Theis loses Ninth Circuit appeal on book display

A federal appeals court upheld the termination of Roderick E. Theis II, a long‑time social worker for Oregon’s Intermountain Education Service District, after he displayed children’s books affirming biological sex in his office. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2‑1 that the display was government speech tied to his official duties and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

The district had previously allowed other books with explicit content on its children's library shelves, but deemed Theis’s books—"He is He", "She is She" (by Ryan and Bethany Bomberger of The Radiance Foundation) and "Johnny the Walrus" (by Matt Walsh)—unacceptable. Theis, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, had sued for a protective order, but lower courts and the appellate court affirmed his firing.