It’s been a chaotic year across the country, to say the least, and with chaotic years come plenty of opportunities for stories. I once again covered the library beat as the Alabama Public Library Service toyed with state funding for Fairhope Public Library and moved to ban transgender representation for minors. Then there were the July ICE raids at El Patron locations across the state, reports of a naked Orange Beach mayor punching a woman, a bill that shuttered CBD stores across the state and white supremacists arrested at the site of a nuclear power plant.
ICE Raids Popular Mexican Restaurant Chain
I was on my way to lunch when I began being inundated with messages: ICE is at El Patron (in Prattville). It didn’t take long for me to see the furor for myself as I was already driving that way. It was a day of confusion as more reports indicated similar raids across the state. Soon, it was being reported that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security were the agencies conducting the raids; that’s partly true, as the raids were undertaken by the Gulf of America Security Task Force, which incudes those two agencies in addition to ICE. Some outlets allowed this narrative through, ignoring the reality that this operation primarily resulted in the arrest of undocumented immigrants working at the restaurants. Only three individuals were arrested on other charges, and none of them were even arrested at the scenes of the raids. I followed through as the federal government brought charges against those three men.
The main target of the raids was restaurant owner Cesar Campos Reyes, who stands accused of multiple counts of bank fraud and wire fraud for alleged misuse of Covid-era relief. A judge granted Campos Reyes release despite the U.S. government trying to argue he is a danger to the community. Campos Reyes has not been shown to have any history of violence. A judge also found no probable cause for charges against Isaac Fernandez-Lopez, who the government accused of harboring illegal aliens by nature of his role as a kitchen manager at the Opelika El Patron. The judge did find sufficient evidence for probable cause against a second El patron manager, Luis Miguel Campos Reyes, on charges of employing illegal aliens. Judge Chad Bryan decided against the U.S. government argument, however, that he should be held in detention pending trial because ICE would likely remove him from the country.
Alabama Legislature Forces Through Bill Banning Hemp Products
Coming into the 2025 Legislative Session, it was clear that lawmakers wanted to regulate hemp products—they just didn’t have a plan yet on how to regulate those products. Rather than regroup and learn from the process, the Senate decided to take House Bill 445 by Representative Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, and jammed their favorite ideas from all the other proposals into a new version of the bill that hardly resembled what passed the House. While the law that passed did not technically eliminate the burgeoning industry in the state, it has hit hemp retailers hard across the state, with some businesses having to close up shop as many of the most popular products are now unlawful to sell or possess. The bill effectively shutters an industry that began just five years ago after the U.S. Farm Bill carved out a path for the production and sale of hemp products that are not psychoactive.
Martha Sham of Auburn displays images from books at the Auburn Public Library including multiple books in the adult section.
Libraries: Fairhope Fights for Funding; Transgender Representation Banned
As the battle raged on in 2025 over what books belong in children and youth sections of Alabama libraries, the individual focus shifted from the Prattville library to the Fairhope Public Library as dissidents alleged the library failed to conform with new state code requiring sections for minors to remain free of “sexually explicit” books. Led by new APLS Chair John Wahl, who also chairs the Alabama GOP, the state board voted to withhold funding from the library in March. Within a week of the decision, the anti-censorship group Read Freely Alabama had raised $40,000 in funds to cover the potential shortfall in state aid.
The remainder of the year became a tick-and-tack exchange between Fairhope and the APLS. Wahl asked the board to review 35 books which had been challenged as inappropriate by dissidents. As meetings came and went, it was unclear whether the APLS would restore funding to the library. The agency finally made clear that the library had lost $22,000 in state funding after reports that the money had already been redistributed to other Baldwin County libraries. Despite Fairhope completing its review, the board has still taken no action on whether to restore Fairhope’s funding.
Meanwhile at the state level, board member Amy Minton proposed a new code change to prohibit transgender representation in books for minors. The board followed through on that proposal and adopted the code in late November.
Battle Over Body Cam Footage After Report of Naked Orange Beach Mayor Punching Woman
As Tony Kennon sought reelection as the mayor of Orange Beach, a bombshell report by the Lagniappe Daily revealed a police report from a witness who told law enforcement she saw a naked man on the balcony of a public building repeatedly punching a woman. Kennon has denied the incident took place, although he admitted to being at the facility that night, claiming he and his wife stopped by his “second office” to change clothes while on a getaway.
C.C. Dixon-Moreno, a Mississippi attorney now residing in Orange Beach, became a thorn in Kennon’s side, demanding release of body cam footage related to the incident and ultimately suing the city for failing to release it. A judge dismissed that lawsuit but allowed it to be brought back as an amended complaint, and that suit continues today. Dixon-Moreno did get a leak of the body cam audio, which corroborated earlier reporting of OBPD’s contact with Kennon at the scene.
Despite the controversy, Kennon won reelection as mayor of Orange Beach in a heated race with Council President Jeff Boyd.
Four avowed white supremacists entered a secure multi-industry property just across the Tennessee River that includes a nuclear power plant.
Alabama White Supremacists Arrested on Site of Nuclear Power Plant
Four self-avowed white supremacists walk into a nuclear power plant—stop me if you’ve heard this one. Aiden Cuevas, Aiden Stamper, Logan Gulbranson and Brandon Crews on January 4 were arrested and charged with trespassing and burglary after being caught on the site of several industries including a nuclear power plant. The four young men make up the core of what they refer to as the “North Bama Brigade”—although only two of the four, the Aidens, appear to actually live in the state. As of this publication, the four are still awaiting review of their charges by a grand jury.
