Author: Matthew Giffin

Tennessee Treasurer Absent from Letter to Bank of America Demanding End to De-Banking Conservatives

Matthew Giffin
David H. Lillard, Jr.

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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Rep. John Rose Applauds Possible Reduced FISA Reauthorization

Matthew Giffin
John Rose

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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Man Wanted for Nashville Restaurant Shooting Had Extensive Criminal Record, Out on $50,000 Combined Bond

Matthew Giffin
Anton Rucker

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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Phil Williams and NewsChannel 5 Refuse to Answer Questions About Legality of Recorded Phone Call Broadcast in Anti-School Choice Report

Matthew Giffin
NewsChannel5 news Director Sandy Boonstra and reporter Phil Williams

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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Ben Cunningham: Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike ‘Just a Small Down Payment’ for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transit Vision

Matthew Giffin
People Riding Bus

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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Clinton Airport Director Dies After Shootout with Federal Agents Investigating Gun Sales

Matthew Giffin
Bryan Malinowski

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 Rep. Johnny Garrett Halts $800 Million Tax Increase Sponsored by Democrat

Matthew Giffin
Johnny Garrett

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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Nashville Chief Development Officer Addresses Proposed ‘East Bank Authority,’ Prioritizes Residential Buildings for East Bank Development

Matthew Giffin
Bob Mendes East Bank

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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Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga Will Receive Federal Funds Through Bloomberg’s American Sustainable Cities Initiative to Lobby for Billions from Biden’s Federal Slush Fund

Matthew Giffin
Mike Bloomberg

Bloomberg Philanthropies announced on Tuesday that three Tennessee cities will take part in an initiative that would use federal funds provided by the Biden administration.

Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga were selected for the organization’s American Sustainable Cities Initiative, which stated its focus would be on creating economic equity and green energy jobs, according to a Tuesday news release from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Mike Bloomberg, the former Democratic New York Mayor, founded Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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State Court Postpones Trial of Police Officers Charged with Killing Tyre Nichols Until Federal Trial Concludes: Report

Matthew Giffin

A Memphis judge on Friday postponed the state court trial of four former Memphis police officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols until a federal trial against them concludes, the Associated Press reported.

The delay comes after the former officers’ attorneys requested the judge postpone the state trial so as not to “hinder the officers’ rights to defend themselves in both cases,” the outlet continued. The federal trial is set for September 9, 2024.

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Judge Dismisses Challenge to Tennessee Election Integrity Law

Matthew Giffin
Judge Eli Richardson

A federal district court judge dismissed a challenge to a Tennessee election integrity law meant to encourage people to only vote in the primary election associated with their party. District Judge Eli Richardson dismissed the lawsuit on Monday, The Associated Press reported.

The League of Women Voters of Tennessee, Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Victor Ashe, and real estate developer Phil Lawson filed the lawsuit against the Tennessee Secretary of State, the state election coordinator, and the Tennessee Attorney General in November 2023, The Tennessee Star previously reported.

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Tennessee Joins Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case Against FDA

Matthew Giffin
TN AG Jonathan Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined in filing an amicus brief with 21 other state attorneys general in a case being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court that could decide the fate of a popular abortion pill.

“This case is about protecting the authority of the people of Tennessee to govern themselves,” Skrmetti stated, according to the attorney general’s website. “In our system, major policy decisions are made by the people through their elected representatives and decisions about abortion law are made by state governments. The U.S. Constitution prevents federal bureaucrats from undermining Tennessee’s Human Life Protection Act no matter how much they disagree with it.”

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East Tennessee State University Veteran Memorial Vandalized with ‘Free Palestine’ Messages

Matthew Giffin
ETSU Sign

A veterans memorial at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) was recently vandalized with anti-Israel messages. University officials reportedly told a local news outlet that they were working to remove the vandalism from the site Friday night.

The top of the memorial statue was vandalized with messages saying “Free Palestine,” “We have failed ourselves,” and “How many must die?”

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Tennessee Secretary of State Says State Democrat Lawmakers are Trying to ‘Weaponize’ DOJ

Matthew Giffin
TN DOJ

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett stated that state Democrat lawmakers are trying to “weaponize” the United States Department of Justice against the state.

“Tennesseans should not be surprised that some want to weaponize the Department of Justice against the state ranked number one in election integrity,” Hargett said in the statement obtained by The Tennessee Star on Friday.

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Tennessee Considers Bill Restricting State Department of Child Services from Requiring Adoptive Parents to Vaccinate

Matthew Giffin
Parents

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would restrict the state’s Department of Child Services from requiring prospective adoptive or foster parents to get vaccinated.

The State House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee voted to pass the State House version of the legislation today after discussion and testimony. It is now on the calendar for the State Senate for February 29.

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State Representative Jason Zachary Says Gavin Newsom Should ‘Mind His Own Business’ After Attacking Tennessee with Super-Pac Ad

Matthew Giffin
State Rep Jason Zachary

Tennessee State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) said California Governor Gavin Newsom should pay more attention to his state’s problems after Newsom’s super PAC released an advertisement attacking Tennessee for proposing a parental rights bill.

Zachary made his comments in a phone interview on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday.

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Governor Lee Signs Marriage Bill Protecting Religious Convictions

Matthew Giffin

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law a bill that protects the religious convictions of people approached to solemnize or officiate a marriage.

“A person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs,” reads the new law which took effect on Wednesday.

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Mysterious Email Supporting Property Assessor Rob Mitchell Sent to Rutherford County Employees

Matthew Giffin
Rob Mitchell

Several Rutherford County officials received a mysterious email message cautioning them to support incumbent property assessor candidate Rob Mitchell following a Tennessee Star report about his hiring practices, according to an email obtained by The Star.

Ahead of Mitchell’s bid for reelection, he hired the son of two Rutherford County officials, Michael Maxwell, for a position in the property assessor’s office created for Maxwell after determining he was unqualified for the original job posting, The Star previously reported.

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Vanderbilt Students Walk Out on ADL CEO for Putting ‘Students at Risk’ by Speaking

Matthew Giffin
ADL Vanderbilt Event

Many Vanderbilt University students took seats at a campus speaking event only to leave them because of the event’s headliner, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

Jewish Voice for Peace Vanderbilt, a student organization part of the larger Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) group that advocates for Israel to stop its military campaign against Hamas terrorists, posted a video of the February 15 walkout to Instagram.

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Gun Thefts from Nashville Vehicles Down 43 Percent for First Six Weeks of 2024

Matthew Giffin

The number of gun thefts from vehicles in Nashville for the first six weeks of the year decreased 43% from 2023, according to a press release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

So far, 90 guns have been stolen from Nashville cars compared to last year’s 158. Gun thefts from cars comprise 72% of all gun thefts in Nashville so far for 2024.

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Rutherford County Property Assessor Hires Son of County GOP Chairman and a School Board Member for Newly Created Position After He Was Determined Unqualified for Original Position

Matthew Giffin

Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell hired the son of the Rutherford County GOP chairman for a position he was unqualified for ahead of Mitchell’s bid for reelection in 2024.

Mitchell hired Michael Maxwell, son of Rutherford County GOP Chairman Austin Maxwell, in January 2024 despite not meeting the minimum requirements of the position he applied for, according to documents obtained by The Tennessee Star with an open records request.

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Liz Cheney Visits Vanderbilt, Warns Democracy in Danger by Trump Supporters

Matthew Giffin

Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY-at large) and former MSNBC contributor Jon Meacham warned their audience at Vanderbilt University of increasing support for former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

During the public conversation on January 6, titled “Defending Our Democracy,” Meacham and Cheney agreed that “Trumpism” is a cult and suggested the country may have to be recovered by “great violence and upheaval.”

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Bullied, Targeted, and Harassed: A Turning Point USA Student Shares Her Story of Oppression at East Tennessee State University

Matthew Giffin
Lakie Derrick

Lakie Derrick, now 21, first traveled less than 30 miles to attend East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the fall of 2020. She had always known her hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, to be a relatively conservative city.

In 2016, the two counties that contain Kingsport overwhelmingly voted to elect Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Washington County, where ETSU is located, did the same that year and supported Trump again in 2020. Only two Tennessee counties held blue through the 2022 gubernatorial election.

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Tennessee Universities Earn Bad Free Speech Code Ratings

Matthew Giffin

Many Tennessee universities maintain speech codes that suppress campus free speech, according to a recent report by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Of the six Tennessee schools included in the report, five reportedly have rules restricting free speech.

The Spotlight on Campus Speech Codes 2024 report rates U.S. colleges based on whether their written speech codes do not infringe on protected speech. According to the report, 85.4 percent of schools maintain policies that can or do infringe on free expression.

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Socialist Students Demand ETSU Restrict ‘Hate Speech’ Ahead of Kyle Rittenhouse Visit

Matthew Giffin
Kyle Rittenhouse

The Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) has demanded the school makes a specific policy prohibiting “hate speech.” The call comes as the right-of-center ETSU chapter of Turning Point USA prepares to host Kyle Rittenhouse for a February 8 event they’re calling “The Rittenhouse Recap.”

ETSU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) said Rittenhouse’s visit to campus is “in clear violation of ETSU’s supposed hate speech policy” in a Friday Instagram post. YDSA also demanded that ETSU’s president and student government issue a statement condemning the event.

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Trump Critic Co-Chairs Vanderbilt ‘Unity and American Democracy’ Project

Matthew Giffin
Jon Meacham

Outspoken former President Donald Trump critic Jon Meacham, who compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of Nazi Germany’s Third Reich, serves as a co-chair of Vanderbilt University’s “Project on Unity and American Democracy.”

Vanderbilt launched the project in 2021 because the United States “has become disconnected from evidence and reason” and suffers from political and ideological polarization, according to its website.

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Vanderbilt ‘Justice in Palestine’ Students and Alumni Accuse University of Supporting Genocide

Matthew Giffin

Pro-Palestine Vanderbilt students and alumni activists accused the university and its chancellor of “supporting genocide” in an Instagram post on Monday.

The Instagram accounts for the Vanderbilt Alumni for Palestine and the Vanderbilt chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine jointly posted a series of graphics in response to an email that the groups claim Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier sent to students.

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Middle Tennessee State University Names New ‘Social Justice Journalism’ Concentration Coordinator

Matthew Giffin

Middle Tennessee State University named Jennifer Woodard as the new program coordinator for the school’s Social Justice Journalism concentration, according to the university’s online academic catalog.

Woodard, a Ph.D. in mass communication from Indiana University-Bloomington and an MTSU alumna, is an expert in “diversity, equity and inclusion,” “race, class, gender and media issues,” and “mediated representations of women” according to her university faculty bio. She is also a faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies department and “concentrated on scholarship that would enhance her ability to teach students the value of a diversified newsroom” while pursuing her Ph.D., according to her faculty bio.

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MTSU Teaches ‘Social Justice Journalism’ Track

Matthew Giffin
MTSU

Middle Tennessee State University offers a “Social Justice Journalism” track of study for undergraduate students.

The track is called the Social Justice Journalism concentration, which students can declare if they are pursuing a major in journalism. A concentration is a specialized track of study an undergraduate student can pursue within their declared major, according to Academic Info.

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