99.7 WTN afternoon radio host Brian Wilson on Friday unveiled portions of recorded interviews of Metro Nashville Police Department investigators revealing details and asking questions about Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale to her parents.
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The mental health facility alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure was ordered to be released to on Monday to an “open-door” psychiatric treatment center in East Tennessee.
Pasadena Villa in Sevierville, Tennessee, houses patients who voluntarily stay there, according to testimony by Admissions Coordinator Sabina Shakoor. Personnel cannot force patients to stay, and patients have left the facility voluntarily in the past, she continued.
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Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale reportedly used funds from a federal Pell grant to buy the guns she used to perpetrate a mass shooting in March, 2023.
99.7 WTN afternoon radio host Brian Wilson reported Wednesday that Hale “took money from an education grant she received to purchase her weapons and to pay for training at a local gun range.”
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99.7 WTN afternoon radio host Brian Wilson asked three big questions about the Covenant School shooting investigation in an on-air report on Thursday that he posted to his website.
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A man pushed, grabbed, and choked his granddaughter at a downtown public bus station in Nashville in the latest incident related to criminal activity associated with WeGo, WSMV reported.
Metro Nashville Police Department arrested Kevin Figgins, 58, on Monday. He is charged with domestic assault with bodily injury, and his bond has been set at $1,000, according to Davidson County court records.
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Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale had been having fantasies of carrying out school shootings ever since she was a middle schooler, 99.7 WTN afternoon radio host Brian Wilson reported Wednesday.
Wilson revealed a number of other previously unknown details about Hale referencing a “lengthy” document he obtained regarding her and the shooting. He said he had more details he would reveal Thursday.
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Federal District Court Judge Alistair Newbern ordered the temporary release of transgender alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure on Monday but did not hear victim statements beforehand.
Newbern ordered McClure, who is charged with cyberstalking, to be released the same day to voluntary mental health in-patient treatment in Sevierville, Tennessee, rather than keep her in federal custody. Before Monday, McClure was held in solitary confinement.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Transgender alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure was ordered by a federal district court judge on Monday to be temporarily released to a residential mental health facility rather than stay in federal custody.
McClure’s representation proposed the plan to temporarily release her in a Monday hearing. The prosecution agreed with the plan after negotiating several conditions for McClure’s release and initially preferring that she remain in federal custody. McClure’s charges were not discussed in the hearing.
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Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale reportedly told her therapist that she was fantasizing about killing her family and committing a school shooting, according to a report by 99.7 WTN radio host Brian Wilson. The therapist reportedly did not report these findings to authorities.
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Metro Nashville Police Department declined to comment on allegations by a recently retired MNPD officer who claimed police searched the home and office of a “practitioner” involved in the Covenant shooting investigation.
Former Lieutenant Garet Davidson is skeptical the Covenant shooting investigation is still “active, open, and actually being worked” despite MNPD’s claim that the investigation is open, he said in an interview with 99.7 WTN host Brian Wilson on his afternoon drive radio show.
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A 61-page complaint against the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) by a retired officer was obtained in full by 99.7 WTN radio host Brian Wilson and published on his website Thursday afternoon.
Wilson interviewed the complaint’s author — former MNPD Lieutenant Garet Davidson — Thursday on his afternoon drive time radio show.
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The state of Tennessee achieved a court victory against five online liquor stores that were selling alcohol without a license in the state, the state announced in a Tuesday release.
Undercover agents of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) ordered and received alcohol from each online seller, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office said in a release announcing the original lawsuit in July 2023. Staff attorneys then sent cease and desist letters to each distributor, but each letter was ignored.
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Metro Nashville’s newly formed Community Review Board (CRB) held a special meeting on Tuesday about a series of allegations by a disgruntled former Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officer.
The 61-page complaint contained allegations that high-level MNPD officers engaged in lobbying behind closed doors to pass a 2023 state law that banned the city’s Community Oversight Board (COB). The complaint also alleged that MNPD undermined the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), MNPD’s internal affairs division responsible for investigating police misconduct.
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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recognized the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Division of Elections as a recipient of the National Clearing House Awards for the division’s American Sign Language video project.
The EAC awarded the state in the category “Improving Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities.”
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State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) penned an open letter to Governor Bill Lee asking him to consider his administration contracting with a consulting firm to fight Memphis crime.
Taylor requested a meeting with Gov. Lee “to discuss the possibility of your administration contracting with a credible, high-profile, public safety consulting firm to serve as the state’s expert consultant in Memphis to provide a comprehensive plan to reduce crime,” Taylor posted on X.
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The man police arrested for an alleged May 11 sexual assault of a woman outside a Vanderbilt Medical Center parking garage is a sex offender and a repeat felon, according to MNPD and court records about the suspect.
The suspect is Daniel Revette, 39. Before he was arrested, he already had outstanding warrants for attempted rape, sexual battery, and kidnapping, MNPD posted to X. Officers arrested Revette after he tried to be admission to a Nashville hospital for an evaluation.
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Eighty-three percent of people who answered a Fox 17 News online survey said they do not feel safe on Metro Nashville’s WeGo public buses.
Fox 17 posted the survey to X after a recent string of violent incidents at WeGo locations in Nashville and criticism of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s efforts to invest in the city’s public buses.
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Several Nashville business leaders have publicly allied themselves with Nashville Metro Council Member Courtney Johnston, the Republican challenger to Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), since she announced her campaign in April.
Bobby Joslin, owner of Joslin and Son Sign Company, which has provided signs to many Nashville businesses, welcomed Johnston at an annual fish fry event on Thursday by gifting her a prominent sign, The Nashville Banner reported. Prominent Nashville and Tennessee political figures attended the event, including former Governor Bill Haslam, former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, and several current and former candidates for office representing both parties.
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Tennessee State Legislature candidates revealed their positions on possible Second Amendment-related legislation in a survey of the candidates conducted by the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA).
The TFA’s candidate survey consisted of 24 “yes” or “no” questions, asking candidates up for election whether they would vote for hypothetical legislation. Most of the hypothetical bills in question dealt with repealing restrictions on Tennesseans to own and carry firearms. The TFA posted the results on Monday.
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Gun thefts from vehicles in Nashville have decreased compared to this time last year, according to numbers released by Metro Nashville Police Department on Wednesday. The fall in thefts came after MNPD started an initiative to combat car theft and related crimes.
MNPD said 305 guns have been stolen from Nashville vehicles so far in 2024, according to a Wednesday press release. Numbers from around this time last year recorded 477 gun thefts from vehicles, making for a 36 percent decrease.
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The latest Vanderbilt Poll paints a picture of a politically divided Tennessee, but the poll’s methodology reveals its creators prioritized registered voters in the Nashville area.
The Vanderbilt Poll, launched by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in an attempt to provide a nonpartisan reading of public opinion, portrayed Tennesseans as overall politically conservative but starkly divided over certain issues.
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Nashville suffered 30 combined overdose incidents across Sunday and Monday, Metro Nashville Police Department told The Tennessee Star about a recent spike in overdose activity in Nashville.
MNPD announced the recent overdose spike in a Tuesday press release, detailing the department’s efforts to fight overdoses in Nashville in response to the rise in overdose activity. For example, MNPD highlighted its detectives distributing kits of Narcan, a medicine that can treat drug overdoses in emergency situations, to about 40 homeless individuals.
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Nashville’s Metro Council voted to reject a sign for Morgan Wallen’s new downtown bar, raising questions about the council’s compliance with the First Amendment.
Wallen, a country music star, is set to open This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen in Nashville over Memorial Day weekend. However, the bar’s main sign, which was planned to hang over the public walkway outside the building, will not be installed because of a 30-3 Metro Council vote.
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Metro Nashville Police Department handed out kits for Narcan, medicine that can treat drug overdoses in emergency situations, to about 40 homeless people on Monday in response to a spike in overdoses on Sunday and Monday.
Detectives are investigating the overdose spike, according to an MNPD press release. In only one incident downtown, eight individuals overdosed together, causing two fatalities while the other six were revived with Narcan.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Actress Patricia Heaton, known for her roles in Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, took a public stand against rising antisemitism in America by starting her own nonprofit, the October 7 Coalition (O7C).
Heaton, who lives in Nashville, founded O7C as a Christian grassroots group meant to serve as a network for Christians and pastors to take public stands against antisemitism in the U.S. Heaton and the group have been involved in protests against antisemitism, like at Columbia University which has previously been embattled by anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments by students.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee– A group of Israeli artists gathered in a Nashville recording booth Monday to make music for a special initiative to fight antisemitism organized by actress Patricia Heaton.
Heaton, an Emmy winner for her role as Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond, serves as founder of the October 7 Coalition (O7C), a nonprofit organization meant to be a network of Christians taking visible stands against rising antisemitism in the United States in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
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Nashville’s Beacon Center, a politically conservative think tank, explained the “downright inexcusably awful” portions of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move in an analysis published Friday.
Choose How You Move is a $3.1 billion mass transportation plan proposed by O’Connell that would upgrade nearly 600 traffic signals, build or upgrade 86 miles of sidewalks, provide 24/7 public transportation, and more features planned to be funded by a half-cent sales tax increase. The plan fell under criticism by political conservatives who have argued Choose How You Move is a misuse of tax dollars.
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced in his first State of Metro address on Tuesday that his Choose How You Move mass transit plan passed a required independent audit.
O’Connell’s mass transportation plan Choose How You Move includes public transportation available 24/7, almost 600 upgraded traffic signals, 86 miles of sidewalks, and other features, all proposed to be funded by a half-cent sales tax. The plan must meet certain requirements under Tennessee’s IMPROVE Act, like the independent audit, before being considered by Nashville voters on a November ballot.
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A Washington D.C.-based left-wing advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is behind a lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education challenging a state law that restricts students from using multi-person restrooms that do not match their sex.
The plaintiff, a transgender minor, is represented by two attorneys with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a nonprofit organization under the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). HRC describes itself as “the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization” on its website with local groups in most states.
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Nashville will test some of its beer sellers by having someone attempt to purchase beer without presenting identification.
The Metro Beer Permit Board announced Monday it will conduct compliance checks by having an individual over 21 years old enter establishments with off-sale beer permits and try to purchase beer without an ID, according to a Nashville government news release. The board wants to enhance compliance with state law among sellers with off-sale permits.
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The University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) has apparently not made any statements or actions as anti-Israel protesters continued to demonstrate past the school’s given deadline of May 11.
UTK allowed the People’s School for Gaza, which is not an official student organization at the university, to demonstrate on campus for about two weeks after starting on May 1, despite UTK’s rules for using its outdoor spaces. The school went so far as to reserve the space the protesters had been using, the Student Union Cumberland Plaza, on the group’s behalf.
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The Tennessee Department of Homeland Security, a state-level law enforcement agency, conducted interviews of transgender alleged cyberstalker McKenzie McClure while Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) did not take action.
According to the criminal complaint against McClure, who left a voicemail of a “threatening nature” for her former school Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) in Nashville, the Tennessee Department of Homeland Security became involved in the investigation of McClure. As of now, there are no publicly available details as to how the department became involved in the case.
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A transgender alleged cyberstalker who caused a Nashville Christian school to close for a day in March after sending a disconcerting message was previously charged with domestic assault, according to court records.
McKenzie McClure, also known as Kalvin McClure, was charged twice with domestic assault according to Williamson County public court records. The records list the “violation date” on each charge as August 21, 2022.
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After about one week of protests and refusal to comply with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s (UTK) rules and flouting warnings of violating state law, an anti-Israel protest group on campus has had the Student Union Cumberland Plaza designated for it by the school itself.
On Wednesday, May 1, a group of protesters called the “People’s School for Gaza,” which is not a student organization registered with UTK, began demonstrating on campus after an official event held by the school’s official chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, The Tennessee Star previously reported.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department told The Tennessee Star it did not interview an alleged cyberstalker now in federal custody who left a concerning message for Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) in March that caused the school to close for one day.
McKenzie McClure, a self-identified “trans man” also known as Kalvin McClure or Kalvin Mikoledes, was arrested on suspicion of cyberstalking by federal agents on April 29 for the message she left for CPA and her social media activity where she made several concerning posts about CPA and threatened Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and his wife Maria Lee. McClure is still in federal custody.
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A former student of Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) in Nashville was arrested on suspicion of cyberstalking days after possibly making a public threat toward Governor Bill Lee and his wife Maria Lee.
McKenzie McClure, also known as Kalvin McClure, was arrested by federal agents after they observed troubling social media activity and McClure left a concerning voicemail to CPA on March 24, 2024, that caused two schools to shut down the following day.
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As anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the country dominate the headlines, higher education institutions in Tennessee have also harbored a presence of student activism on behalf of the Palestinian side of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Two student organizations with chapters at some Tennessee colleges—Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)—are among many activist groups across the country that receive abundant funding and harbor ties to left-leaning groups.
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An individual who sent a message causing a Nashville private Christian school to close back in March was arrested for alleged cyberstalking, according to court documents. The person also appears to identify as a member of the LGBTQ community.
On March 24, days before the anniversary of the Covenant School shooting, Christ Presbyterian Academy received a message containing “disconcerting language towards the safety of our campus,” school officials said in an email to parents at the time, WSMV reported. CPA and neighboring Currey Ingram Academy in Brentwood closed the next day due to safety concerns.Â
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Anti-Israel demonstrations at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) continued into their sixth consecutive day on Monday, May 6. A non-student organization calling itself the People’s School for Gaza held demonstrations at multiple locations on UTK’s campus.
The group announced a meeting at 9 a.m. ET in an initial Instagram post and moved across campus throughout the day. By 1:50 p.m. ET, demonstrators had moved to the lawn of the Student Union, according to a post later in the day.
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Metro Government has responded to a criticism that Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed transportation plan is not legal under state law.
Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham recently called O’Connell’s referendum illegal because it would increase taxes to fund projects he argues are not covered by the IMPROVE Act, like sidewalks and traffic signals.
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Several state treasurers and other officials sent a letter to Bank of America warning the banking giant of apparently targeting customers with conservative politics by de-banking them—however, Tennessee State Treasurer David Lillard’s signature was absent.
The letter to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said its signatories are concerned that Bank of America has a “track record of discriminating against religious ministries,” a “systemic bias” against politically conservative views, and supporters of former President Donald Trump.
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U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) applauded a possible change to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization bill, shrinking the period of reauthorization from five years to two, according to a Thursday release.
After several Republican legislators blocked a plan to reauthorize FISA on Wednesday, it was reported the next day that House leaders are considering a plan that would limit the bill’s authority to two years. Such a plan resembles an amendment originally proposed by Rose.
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The man police allege is responsible for killing one and injuring five in an Easter Sunday shooting in Nashville was a convicted felon out on bond for felony charges in Rutherford County.
Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings H. Jones said the suspect, 46-year-old Anton Rucker, should not have been released on bond.
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The man wanted by police for a shooting in a Nashville restaurant on Easter Sunday was out of jail on a combined $50,000 bond and has an extensive criminal past, according to court records.
Anton Rucker, 46, is suspected of injuring five and killing one person—Allen Beachem, 33—in a shooting at Roasted, a restaurant in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville. Rucker is now one of Tennessee’s most wanted, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in a post to X.
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NewsChannel 5 and investigative journalist Phil Williams have so far refused to answer questions about the suspicious origin of a phone call recording Williams obtained and broadcast in a Monday report attacking a school choice advocacy group.
The recording captured a phone conversation between Executive Director Tori Venable of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee and State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), who currently opposes Governor Bill Lee’s pending school choice legislation.
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Nashville Tea Party founder Ben Cunningham warned that the half-cent sales tax increase being considered to fund Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit reform plan will be “just a small down payment” from Nashvillians.
Cunningham posted to X, formerly Twitter, in response to a piece by Tennessean reporter Cassandra Stephenson.
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The executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport died Thursday after a shootout with federal agents who were investigating the potentially illegal sale of firearms.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) attempted to serve a warrant at the Little Rock home of Bryan Malinowski, 53, at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, ATF and Arkansas State Police told NBC. Malinowski’s family has sought legal counsel and claims the ATF’s actions were not justified.
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State Representative Johnny Garrett’s (R-Goodlettsville) amendment to a Tennessee bill that would have enacted a massive tax increase passed Wednesday in the Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee.
According to a fiscal note on the bill before it was amended, it would have increased state revenue by nearly $800 million in taxes on business enterprises.
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Metro Nashville Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes addressed the proposed “East Bank Development Authority” that would oversee the East Bank development project at a Friday press conference. Mendes also detailed some restrictions he said are intended to create a “neighborhood” in a 30-acre area of the East Bank.
Mendes said he was hopeful that the Tennessee General Assembly would pass the necessary legislation to create an East Bank Development Authority, which he added would also need to be approved by the Nashville Metro Council.
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Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) warned state Republicans that Democrat constituents may respond with riots after the General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting local governments from inhibiting law enforcement.
Other Democrats expressed their disapproval after the Senate sent the bill in question to the governor’s desk Thursday.
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