COEUR d’ALENE — The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee and its chair, Brent Regan, have been added to a defamation lawsuit filed by two former Community Library Network Trustees.

Judy Meyer and Regina McCrea originally filed the lawsuit in May, seeking damages in excess of $10,000 and naming three Kootenai County residents who distributed letters that accused the former trustees of committing crimes against children amid their reelection campaigns.

The suit alleges that Janice Camarena, Anita Dupzyk, Marjorie Desgrosseilliers and Brent Regan delivered defamatory letters to hundreds of Kootenai County households ahead of the May election. The three women identified themselves as members of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, while Regan is the committee’s chair.

The letters said Meyer and McCrea “allowed graphic books with text and pictures describing every imaginable sex act to be purchased and displayed to children,” an allegation the former trustees have denied.

“Many of the good people in our community have been shocked to learn that sexually explicit books are on display in the children’s section of our libraries,” the letters said in part. “These books are so explicit that if you were to give them to a child, you would be committing a crime.”

The lawsuit contends that Camarena, Dupzyk, Desgrosseilliers and Regan knew their claims were false when they signed and distributed the letters.

Meyer and McCrea contend that the letters damaged their “reputations for honesty and integrity” and impacted their standing in the community.

Court records show that Camarena and Dupzyk were served Oct. 24, while Desgrosseilliers was served Nov. 1.

Summons naming Regan and the Kootenai County Republican Central committee were filed with the court Monday, along with an amended civil complaint.