In his first time speaking with reporters after his controversial calls for “order of protection” (red flag) laws, Gov. Bill Lee (R) defended his position, as well as the upcoming special legislative session that will be focused on gun control.
“It is a very important conversation that I think Tennesseans want us to have,” said Lee, according to WTVF. “We oughta find a way to separate those who are a threat to others and a threat to themselves from having access to weapons.”
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Five people who owned eight restaurants in middle Tennessee have pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to employing illegal aliens at those restaurants.
The five criminals pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding the United States via failure to pay employment taxes, among other charges.
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Ahead of August’s special session wherein Gov. Bill Lee (R) is expect to push for “Order of Protection” (red flag) laws, the governor has signed into law a bill that provides financial resources for school security measures.
Namely, HB 0322 allocates $30 million for the state to hire homeland security agents in each county to serve both public and private schools. The new law also provides $140 million for one full-time, armed School Resource Officer (SRO) for every public school in the state.
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Governor Bill Lee signed a slew of legislation into law last week, including SB0269/HB0317, which makes June 19, or “Juneteenth,” a statewide paid holiday.
The law was sponsored by State Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland) and State Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) and passed through the General Assembly in mid-April.
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Police in Murfreesboro say they will not charge a homeowner shot and killed an intruder after that intruder, along with a second suspect broke into the home, used a taser on the homeowner’s dog and held a gun to one of the homeowner’s children.
“MPD Criminal Investigations Division detectives are investigating a home invasion where the homeowner shoots two intruders, killing one and injuring the other on Friday night. 52-year-old Kevin Ford was pronounced dead at the scene,” according to the police department’s Twitter account.
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A trio of Tennesseans who applied to work at the Tennessee Aquarium were turned down because they were white, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Timothy Shawn Gunn and Marni Renee Pearce, both of Hamilton County along with Zachary Chance Taylor of Catoosa County, are suing the aquarium for discrimination.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced Wednesday that it was investigating a series of hoax phone calls made to schools around the state alerting them to potential school shootings.
“DEVELOPING: TBI is currently working with state and federal partners to determine the source of several hoax calls, placed to local law enforcement agencies, reporting an active shooter at several high schools in the state,” TBI said Wednesday on Twitter.
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While his office is under investigation by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk is filing a legal motion to see what exactly he is under investigation for.
Funk joined a motion first made by NewsChannel 5 to unseal the records, according to that news outlet.
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After the successful passage of SB038 by the Tennessee Senate, which establishes guidelines for regulating hemp-based products, including hemp seeds, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, and salts, is headed to the desk of Gov. Bill Lee (R) for review, and possibly a signature that would make the bill a law.
Aside from barring those under the age of 21 from purchasing hemp-derived cannabinoid, also known as CBD, SB038 tightens regulations to ensure that CBD products are safe for consumption.
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According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), two members of the international MS-13 (La Mara Salvatrucha) gang living in Nashville were found guilty by a federal jury for their roles in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case.
Specifically, Jorge Flores, 30, aka Peluche and Kevin Tidwell, 29, aka Miklo, both of Nashville, were convicted in their roles in a RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking, and destruction of evidence, the DOJ revealed.
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Amid what it is describing as a “weaker demand environment,” Memphis-based FedEx has announced that it will close 29 freight locations as part of its plan to cut more than $1 billion in expenses.
In the closing of the locations, the company will furlough certain employees for at least three months.
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A Montgomery County elementary school went on immediate lockdown Tuesday morning after a student reported seeing a gun on the school’s campus.
According to reporting in ClarksvilleNow.com, Rossview Elementary School in Clarksville locked down after the early morning report, Rossview High School and Rossville Middle School were placed on “lockout,” which bars entry to the school.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) last week released its annual report on criminal activity on college campuses, which shows, in part, that violent crimes are on the rise at Tennessee’s institutions of higher learning.
According to the report, crime as a whole jumped a whopping 26.28 percent from 2021 to 2022.
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The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) at the end of last week that a teenage suspect was in custody after accidentally discharging a firearm inside a high school.
“An investigation is underway after a gun possessed by a student at West High School discharged in a classroom. Preliminarily appears that the gun was in the student’s backpack,” KPD said on Twitter. “A teacher was grazed either by the bullet or bullet fragment. No serious injuries were reported. The student is in custody and the gun is accounted for.”
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In a shift from what has widely been called a “manifesto,” the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Friday told The Tennessee Star that it will release “dated journals” left behind by the mass shooter who killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville one month ago.
“The writings are essentially dated journals,” Don Aaron, an MNPD spokesman, told The Tennessee Star. “While the word manifesto was used on the first day, we have since referred to these as ‘writings’ or ‘journals.'”
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According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue (TDOR), the state will soon begin implementing a $400 million tax cut law recently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly.
“Decades of smart fiscal stewardship have enabled Tennessee to maintain a balanced budget while cutting taxes for Tennessee families and businesses,” said Governor Bill Lee in a TDOR release. “We are proud to continue that legacy this year by putting dollars back in the pockets of Tennesseans and supporting future economic growth across Tennessee, and I thank the General Assembly for its partnership to promote future growth and opportunity for our state.”
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After the CEO of Star News Media, Inc., the owner and operator of The Tennessee Star, submitted an open records request to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Thursday asking that Covenant School mass killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s toxicology report be made public, The Star learned Friday that that request has been denied.
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The CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Star News Network Thursday filed an open records request with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), seeking the release of a toxicology report of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the person who shot and killed six people at The Covenant School a month ago, at the time of Hale’s rampage.
Hale identified as transgender, and a toxicology report would identify what, if any, drugs were in Hale’s system at the time of the mass killing.
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Gov. Bill Lee (R) this week signed into law a bill that streamlines the adoption process in Tennessee.
“I signed the Forever Homes Act, legislation that will provide critical support to TN foster & adoptive families to accelerate child placement,” Lee said after the Tuesday bill signing in Chattanooga. “Great to meet with [Tennessee Department of Children’s Services] caseworkers & adoptive parents in Chattanooga who are giving TN children a loving, permanent home.”
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A Tennessee teacher has gone viral on Facebook after a post saying that children are not ready for social media.
Jackie Tate, whose Facebook profile identifies her as a teacher at St. Patrick’s School, a Catholic school in McEwen, Tennessee, says the following:
Imagine something embarrassing happened to you at school when you were in the 7th grade. Everyone laughed and it was awful and you were mortified. Then a few weeks passed and everyone found new things to laugh about and they moved on. You didn’t forget how embarrassed you were, but you could move on too.
Now imagine you did something embarrassing in 7th grade. And everyone laughed and it was awful. But someone also caught it on Snap Chat. And turned it into a meme. And a Tik Tok. And everyone in school saw it. And took a screen shot of it. And spread it further. And you couldn’t get away from it. And no one forgot. And you couldn’t either. And people were still re sharing it months later.
Just sit there and imagine it for a minute.
Kids aren’t ready for social media. It starts with us parents. Please share.
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Davidson County’s sheriff said he wants the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release the manifesto The Covenant School shooter left behind.
“I think the manifesto needs to be released ASAP,” Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall reportedly said. “I think it would help. I don’t see any reason for it to be private any longer in my opinion.”
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Tennessee Republicans are demanding a the release of a manifesto written by the person who killed six at The Covenant School on March 27, before entering into a special legislative session that will be focused on gun control.
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has filed a public records request with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) in order to obtain information about the manifesto left behind by 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, after Hale’s rampage at The Covenant School in Nashville.
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Pop star Lizzo invited drag queens onto the stage in her weekend performance in Knoxville, apparently in protest of a Tennessee law that bans drag shows near children.
“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,'” Lizzo said during her show. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? “The people who need to feel this release the most?”
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According to a Monday afternoon report, the billionaire head of Fox Corp., Rupert Murdoch, was directly responsible for firing Tucker Carlson, after the cable news network abruptly announced that it had parted ways with its most popular host.
Citing sources “familiar with the situation who were not authorized to comment publicly,” The Los Angeles Times said that Murdoch himself made the decision to fire Carlson, along with some input from the Fox Corp. board of directors.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Thursday announced that it is filing a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee over what it calls an “attack” on transgender youth.
SB 1 recently passed the Tennessee Senate and subsequently enacted into law, bans doctors from child genital mutilation and giving harmful sex-change hormones and puberty blockers to children, the former of which often cannot be reversed.
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A U.S. congressman from Tennessee is among 16 members of Congress and three U.S. senators who signed a letter to President Joe Biden demanding the de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine and a strategic plan to bring the war between those two countries to an end.
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After Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) called for Reg Flag laws, bending to pressure from far-left activists, in the wake of the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Republican legislators said they will not introduce legislation to that end.
“Any red flag law is a non-starter for House Republicans,” the House majority party said on Twitter. “Our caucus is focused on finding solutions that prevent dangerous individuals from harming the public and preserve the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. We have always been open to working with Governor Lee on measures that fit within that framework.”
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Two notable recording artists have joined a chorus of calls for the state of Tennessee to implement stricter gun control measures.
“We’re Nashvillians. We’re also moms,” Sheryl Crow told News Channel 5. “And I think what happened at Covenant has touched everyone, including Gov. Lee on a very deep and personal level. We just want to see something that we can all agree on.”
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A bill that would have required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to test all rape kits submitted to the law enforcement body within 30 days has died on the floor of the Tennessee House.
HB 0104 did not pass the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee’s proposed budget bill.
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In yet another protest in favor of gun control, recently embattled State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) attempted to bring a child-sized casket into the Tennessee House Chamber, before he was forced to drop the prop.
“The rally made it inside the Capitol going through security,” News Channel 5’s Kelsey Gibbs reported. “Rep. Justin Jones and Bishop Barber are trying to enter the chamber with a casket. The sergeant of arms went to check and tells them they can’t bring the casket inside the House chamber.”
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The Southern Baptist Convention is now using its massive sway to call for gun control in Tennessee.
Brent Leatherwood, the Southern Baptist Convention’s president of the church’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), demanded gun control in a letter published by The Tennesseean.
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According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a Tennessee National Guardsman has been charged in connection with a plot to become a hired hitman.
“Josiah Ernesto Garcia, 21, was charged yesterday in a criminal complaint with the use of interstate facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire,” according to the DOJ.
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Tennessee’s governor Monday signed into law a bipartisan bill that will provide billions of taxpayer dollars to fix roads, address traffic congestion and help meet transportation needs for rural Tennesseeans.
The Transportation Modernization Act will “invest $3.3 billion to accommodate Tennessee’s record growth,” according to Gov. Bill Lee’s office.
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A flower shop in Nashville is publicly bashing the Republican National Committee (RNC) after the RNC asked it to provide floral arrangements for an upcoming event.
In an Instagram post, FLWR Shop in Nashville explained that it would not to business with the RNC due to the RNC’s pro-Second Amendment stance.
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The Executive Director of the Tennessee Firearms association said Friday that Gov. Bill Lee (R), who has asked the legislature to deliver him a proposed”Red Flag Law,” which he calls an “Order of Protection” law, is treading on dangerous Constitutional grounds.
“It is not clear why Governor Bill Lee, who claims to support the Second Amendment, would propose a Red Flag law at this time. The circumstances indicate potentially two reasons,” John Harris told The Tennessee Star. “First, the Covenant School shooting fatalities have generated a public emotional response – something that he referenced in his April 11 statement. Second, activists Democrat state legislators are making a demand that more gun control be enacted now.”
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A graphic video being shared on social media shows State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) blocking traffic and assaulting a driver during a riot in the summer of 2020.
The video, first posted in 2021 by local blog Scoop Nashville, shows Jones picking up a traffic cone and jamming it through the driver’s side window of an oncoming car, apparently trying to block the truck from proceeding.
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On the same day that State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives, they voted, along with State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knox County), against a school safety bill that overwhelmingly passed the legislative body.
The trio and State Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) were the only House legislators that voted against House Bill 0322.
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A video circulating the web appears to show that newly-reappointed State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) ran on a platform of unity among Republicans and Democrats during a bid for Bowdoin Student Government President at his alma mater Bowdoin College just a handful of years ago.
“How can we represent all voices in a conversation?” asked Pearson in a campaign video. “I want to do this by partnering with Democrats from the Bowdoin Democrats to the Bowdoin Republicans. I want to bring together different voices, dissenting voices. Voices that might be more liberal or more conservative, in order [so] that we can reach the point of sort of the ‘radical middle.'”
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After being expelled from the Tennessee State legislature last week for inciting a riot at the Capitol in Nashville, Democrat lawmaker Justin Pearson has been appointed as his own interim replacement.
“Keep representing us to the best of your ability, and know that you all have support from this body,” said Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery before turning the floor over to Pearson for remarks.
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More than two weeks after 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as transgender, carried out a mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are refusing to provide information about a manifesto left behind by the shooter.
Hale shot and killed six people, including three children, at The Covenant School on March 27.
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After Monday’s reinstatement of State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) by the Nashville Metro Council, the Shelby County Commission Wednesday will hold a special meeting to consider whether to reappoint expelled former State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis).
Over the weekend, Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowry released the following statement on his Facebook page:
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According to a flyer being circulated, Monday will be a “Day of Action” for Tennessee Democrats after two former legislators were expelled from office last Thursday.
“Join the Tennessee three for a day of action,” the flyer says.
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After two Tennessee State Representatives were expelled for leading an unruly mob during a riot at the state Capitol, Vice President Kamala Harris Friday visited Nashville to meet with the expelled lawmakers.
Video shows Harris hugging former State Reps. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), along with State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knox County), who narrowly escaped expulsion by one vote.
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In the wake of the expulsion of two Tennessee lawmakers who led a riot obstructing a lawmaking session, left-wing activists and politicians have responded with fury.
“After a tragic mass shooting in Tennessee, state Republican lawmakers called votes to expel three Democratic legislators who stood in solidarity with students and families. The expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and unprecedented,” said President Joe Biden.
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A left-wing news outlet labeled the expulsion of two Tennessee state lawmakers as an act of partisanship.
“Breaking news: In a historic act of partisan retaliation, the Republican-led Tennessee House voted Thursday to expel two Democratic lawmakers who halted proceedings last week to join protesters demanding gun-control legislation after a mass killing,” said The Washington Post on Twitter, linking to a news story the outlet wrote on the subject.
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After a contentious session in the Tennessee House on Thursday two Democrat state representatives were expelled from office by their congressional colleagues.
Thursday afternoon, State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) (pictured above) was officially removed from the Tennessee state legislature by a vote of 72-25.
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In a Monday press conference, Gov. Bill Lee (R) suggested that some people labeled as “threats” should not be able to own firearms.
“What I expect is that there will be an opportunity to look at legislation [from] around the country, at ways that we can in fact do that very thing, which is mak[ing] sure that those who are a threat to our people, to our children, do not have access to weapons, protecting the constitutional rights of Tennesseans at the same time,” said Lee.
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As Tennessee Republicans move forward with the attempted expulsion of three state representatives who led last Thursday’s riot at the State Capitol, questions linger about what will happen if those representatives are indeed expelled.
State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville), Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) helped lead the riot, which was thwarted by the Tennessee State Troopers who guard the state capitol just before rioters could push their way out of the Capitol gallery and into the Tennessee House chamber, where state lawmakers have their offices.
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A U.S. Senator from Tennessee is speaking out against today’s arrest and arraignment of former President Donald J. Trump.
“President Trump’s indictment is nothing but a cynical, Soros-backed play to take down a 2024 candidate and former president,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
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A public policy group in Tennessee released a report this week showing a massive uptick in charter school growth in the Volunteer State.
According the report by The Beacon Center of Tennessee, charter schools in Tennessee have increased in number from fewer than 20 in 2010 to more than 110 in 2019. Such schools have only become more popular since 2019, and more than 44,000 students in the state are enrolled in a charter school.
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