On Thursday Nashville officials were about to press criminal charges against left-wing activist Justin Jones for alleged felony aggravated rioting — but later in the day they changed their minds.
A Twitter video showed a man during Saturday’s downtown riots jumping onto the hood of a police car while hundreds of protestors cheered him on. The man’s face is not visible to the camera. Seconds later a law enforcement officer tackled the man.
This video is right after Justin Jones stepped off of the car. As you can see, the only thing weird about the vehicle is the cone laying in the car. https://t.co/xdr0Q4vQDL https://t.co/yZf2PH8o1R
— just greg. (@iholytrojan) June 4, 2020
Whether Jones was the man in the video is uncertain, but the Twitter user who posted the video said this:
“This video is right after Justin Jones stepped off of the car,” said Twitter user @iholytrojan.
“As you can see the only weird thing about the vehicle is the cone laying in the car.”
As The Tennessee Star reported, Jones exchanged words with Mayor John Cooper at last Saturday’s rally at Legislative Plaza that honored George Floyd.
Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron told The Tennessee Star Thursday night that city officials withdrew Jones’ warrant “after one of the 60 detectives assigned to investigate protest-related offenses appeared before a judicial commissioner.”
“This afternoon, in discussing additional information with District Attorney Funk, the decision was made to withdraw them for the present,” Aaron said in an email.
The Star then asked whether Mayor Cooper intervened in the matter.
“Absolutely not,” Aaron said.
Aaron said nothing further.
No one at Cooper’s or Funk’s offices immediately returned our request for comment Thursday night.
On his Facebook page, Jones said “justice beared out, but we have to make sure that it works for all.”
“That is why we protest,” Jones said.
Jones’ attorney Nick Leonardo said on Twitter that Nashville officials recalled the warrant because Jones did not commit a crime.
Jones, as The Star reported, has had prior run-ins with law enforcement, one of which was for an alleged assault of then-Speaker of the House Glen Casada. And another for allegedly disrupting a Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville in 2018 that featured U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Also, as reported, Jones asked Cooper during Saturday’s rally whether he would commit to demilitarize and defund the city’s police department?
According to Jones’ account that day, Cooper would not agree to Jones’ demands.
Jones later told the crowd of thousands that “you don’t just vote out your oppressor. You overthrow them.”
As The Tennessee Star reported last year, Jones accepted an American Civil Liberties Union award in November 2016. According to video of the event, which Jones’ grandmother posted on her personal Facebook page, Jones called upon young people to fight for liberty and justice.
“Young people and those who are young at heart, we have five words for you,” Jones said as he accepted the award.
“See you in the streets. We will disrupt. We will organize. We will shut down injustice. Know we will not normalize hatred in this country.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Strange how people who never work anything but their mouths get so much attention. I respect those who keep their mouths shut and prove their worth instead. Talk is cheap son.
If you are in authority and you sit by while lawless people burn and destroy your town, then you are a yellow coward and need to find another way to make a living.
This young lady needs to mind her manners.
Coddling of young black men in this town by Democrats is very dangerous.
What a piece of trash. Maybe Cooper can make him his executive assistant or director of community riots and destruction.
Nashville Police=neutered. Scared. I witnessed intent to damage and incite a riot and a struggle with police. Is it ok now to struggle w police if you think you are in the right while breaking the law? Nashville is I shambles. Where is leadership??!!??
I’m pretty sure that if I jumped on the hood of a cop car, I’d be dragged off to jail. This punk has a long history of initiating and instigating acts of violence. Why won’t anybody throw the book at him?
No surprise here. Mayor Cooper was out with these people and invited them to break his own law for staying apart. It would look bad to charge the people that he suppord. That’s all it about “the way it looks”