Day: July 15, 2026

Freddie O’Connell’s Campaign Manager Secured Mayor’s Office Meeting for Pro-Illegal Alien Nonprofit Before $718,000 Grant

Tom Pappert
Emily Cupples

An email obtained by The Tennessee Star following its public records request to Metro Nashville, seeking answers about the nearly $1.5 million appropriated to two pro-illegal immigrant nonprofits, reveals that the $718,000 grant for Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON) was included in Metro’s budget following a meeting between a city official and Emily Cupples, a Democratic political consultant who now manages the reelection campaign of Mayor Freddie O’Connell. 

Though O’Connell’s office resisted providing an unknown number of documents, citing attorney-client privilege, one of the five sent to The Star is an email exchange between Cupples and a Metro Nashville employee from earlier this year.

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