Author: Tom Pappert

Nonprofit Urging Tennessee to Rescind Illegal Alien Benefits Reporting Directive to Receive $60,000 from Nashville Under Proposed Budget 

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor

Under Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s budget proposal, the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) would receive a $60,000 grant through the Metro Nashville Health Department.

On Tuesday, TJC was revealed by The Tennessee Lookout to have urged the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) to drop a new directive regarding the implementation of House Bill 1710, which passed earlier this year, and will require local government agencies to confirm the lawful presence or citizenship status of those applying for public benefits and report potential violations of benefits-verification requirements. The law takes effect on July 1.

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Proposed Nashville Budget Includes $100,000 Grant for Nonprofit Providing ‘Conference Services’ for MNPS, Including Reported Kentucky Retreat

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

The Nashville budget proposal by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, which is set for a vote on June 17, includes $100,000 for the nonprofit Alignment Nashville. This is the same 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that contracts with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to provide “conference services,” including the district’s annual “SPLASH retreat” for principals that reportedly took place in Louisville, Kentucky earlier this month. 

O’Connell’s budget proposes a $100,000 grant for Alignment Nashville for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, which the city’s FY 27 Expenditure Overview shows is the same dollar contribution the city granted the nonprofit in 2024 and 2026. In 2025, the contribution by Metro was reduced to $50,000.

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Lawsuit Claims Nashville Downtown Partnership, Contractor Stored ‘Combustible Materials’ Before Library Parking Garage Fire

Tom Pappert
Nashville Public Library

Travelers Excess & Surplus Lines Co., the insurance provider for Metro Nashville’s public library parking garage, filed a lawsuit accusing the nonprofit Nashville Downtown Partnership (NDP) and the public security and sanitation company Block by Block of creating a storage yard containing “combustible materials” inside the garage before the June 2025 fire that reportedly caused more than $10 million in damages.

The lawsuit accuses NDP of creating the storage yard and allowing Block by Block to use the facility sometime prior to June 10, 2025, when the lawsuit alleges a fire caused more than $10 million in damages to the property, causing Travelers to make payments on behalf of Metro Nashville under the policy.

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Nearly $1.5 Million in Proposed Nashville Grants Would Continue Existing Program Funding Lawyers for Illegal Aliens, Metro Clerk Says

Tom Pappert
Illegal immigrant lawyer

The Nashville Metropolitan Clerk on Monday confirmed to The Tennessee Star that the over $1.4 million in grants proposed for two nonprofits that support illegal aliens in Tennessee are continuations of previous grants awarded by the city. However, the proposed grants for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 will shift the funding source from Biden-era stimulus money to Nashville taxpayers.

It was reported last month that the budget proposed by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell requests $735,000 for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and $718,000 for Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON), who previously received a combined $3.7 million as the result of a contract with the city. 

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Trump Admin, TVA Confirm Cumberland Coal Plant Scheduled to Close Under Biden Admin to Instead Receive $45 Million for Expansion

Tom Pappert
TVA Cumberland Power Plant

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday that it will contribute more than $46 million toward a “comprehensive coal revitalization” plan at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland Fossil Fuel Plant, with the total project valued at about $116 million. 

According to the Thursday release by the DOE, “This project aims to restore reliability, enhance efficiency, and extend the operational life of the coal-fired assets to meet regional demand for dispatchable power.”

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Nashville Metro Clerk Confirms Office Has No State-Required Records ‘At This Time’ for $718k Grant to a Second Pro-Immigrant Nonprofit

Tom Pappert
Metro Council Meeting

The Metropolitan Clerk of Nashville told The Tennessee Star on Friday that his office currently has no records related to the proposed $718,000 grant for Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors (TNJFON), the second nonprofit that provides services to illegal aliens that would receive funding in the budget submitted to the Metro Council by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, despite Tennessee law requiring a report containing their statement of proposed use, program serving residents, and annual audit  be made available for public inspection.

Asked whether his office has records related to the proposed $718,000 grant for TNJFON, Metro Clerk Austin Kyle told The Star, “No, we don’t have any records for that proposal at this time.”

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Metro Nashville Budget Documents Contradict Mayor’s Claim that Proposed $735,000 ‘Grant’ for Pro-Illegal Alien Nonprofit is ‘Not New’

Tom Pappert
Mayor Freddie O'Connell, Davidson County Courthouse/Nashville City Hall

The claim by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office that the proposed $735,000 grant for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a nonprofit that supports illegal aliens, is “not new” spending appears to contradict Metro Nashville’s own Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Expenditures Overview, which lists no spending in the TIRRC funding account for FY 2024, FY 2025, or FY 2026, before the proposed $735,000 appears in FY 2027.

In light of criticism from Tennessee State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), as well as U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), WKRN on Thursday reported, “the mayor’s office said the funding proposal is ‘not new,’ adding that Metro has supported immigration legal services for years.”

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DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin Tells Congress He Will Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica

Tom Pappert
KAG Costa Rica

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday that his agency would end its opposition to deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, where the State Department previously obtained diplomatic assurances regarding his treatment as part of 2025 negotiations for a plea deal that he ultimately rejected.

Since last August, in multiple arguments submitted to the court and public media appearances, the immigration attorneys representing Abrego Garcia have argued that their client would consent to immediate deportation to Costa Rica, and claimed that his decision to designate the country his preferred destination for removal made it the only valid option for the Trump administration. 

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Nashville Metro Clerk Says No State-Required TIRRC Funding Filing Exists in His Office for Proposed $735,000 Grant

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

After a spokesman for Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday told The Tennessee Star the $735,000 item in his proposed budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is actually a “grant” and subject to oversight from the city, the Metropolitan Clerk of Nashville told The Star his office does not have state-mandated appropriations records from the nonprofit.

Asked whether the proposed spending would be used to advocate or provide legal assistance to illegal aliens on Wednesday, a spokesman for the mayor’s office told The Star, “The Office of Financial Accountability conducts fiscal and programmatic monitoring of grants administered by the various Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County government agencies to ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws, regulations, stated outcomes and results, and specific requirements of the grant program.”

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MNPS Returns to Louisville for Summer Retreat amid $1.5 Million Alignment Nashville Contract for Event, Conference Planning

Tom Pappert
Adrienne Battle

Details were published about the annual “Principal Splash” event held for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) leadership and principals, revealing hundreds planned to return to Louisville, Kentucky, where, in 2023, The Tennessee Star first reported the administrators met for a taxpayer-funded retreat.

According to May reporting by education blogger TC Weber, who has been published by The Star, the principal retreat began this week. It will include three days and two nights in Louisville for about 250 attendees in total. Weber wrote the retreat would include “[t]hree days of meals and snacks” for all attendees, with “extra days” set aside for senior staff members under MNPS Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle.

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Nashville Mayor Claims $735,000 ‘Grant’ for Pro-Illegal Alien Nonprofit to Provide ‘High-Quality Legal Services’ and Community Support

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

A spokesperson for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday told The Tennessee Star that his request for Metro Nashville Council to pass a budget including $735,000 for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) reflects a potential city grant, which the spokesperson said would allow oversight of how the nonprofit organization that advocates for illegal aliens is able to use the money.

The mayor’s request was first reported by The Pamphleteer last week, and after U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) amplified the reporting, O’Connell’s office defended his request in a statement to Fox 17, stating the money would support those “working to adjust or maintain their lawful immigration status or U.S. citizenship.”

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Alexis Wilkins, Country Star Girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, Sues MS NOW for Defamation

Tom Pappert
Alex Wilkins

Alexis Wilkins, the conservative pundit and country music singer who has separately filed defamation lawsuits over claims she was an Israeli “honeypot” sent to influence FBI Director Kash Patel, has filed a defamation lawsuit against MS NOW over the cable news outlet’s December 2025 article asserting one of her allegedly inebriated friends was driven home by an FBI security detail.

In her lawsuit, Wilkins denies the outlet’s claim and alleges that the reporters were aware the claim was false at the time of publication.

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Pro-Trump Hawkins County Retains SELC to Defend Crypto Mining Ban amid Environmental Group’s Role in Lawsuits Against Musk’s xAI, EPA

Tom Pappert
bitcoin

Despite more than 84 percent of Hawkins County, Tennessee, voters casting their ballots for President Donald Trump in November 2024, the county’s government officially agreed to be represented by a progressive legal group, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), which will defend its prohibition on data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations.

The Hawkins County Commission voted to accept the offer by the SELC to defend the county in the lawsuit on May 18, only weeks after local attorney Crystal Jessee described the environmentalist group as a legal “sledgehammer” to defend the county in the lawsuit filed by ExoticRidge, the Kentucky-based cryptocurrency mining company, during a commission meeting in April.

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Embattled Shelby County Democrat Sues to Challenge Primary Loss amid Ouster Effort

Tom Pappert
Wanda Halbert

Embattled Shelby Criminal County Clerk Wanda Halbert last week filed a lawsuit against the Shelby County Election Commission over her narrow primary election loss to State Representative Joe Towns (D-Memphis), with just 126 votes deciding the election. 

In her lawsuit, Halbert claims that about 1,700 absentee ballots cast during the May 5 election are “unprocessed, unresolved, uncounted, or otherwise not reflected in the certified election totals.”

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The Atlantic Defendants in Kash Patel’s Defamation Lawsuit Granted Two Additional Months to Submit Response

Tom Pappert
Kash Patel

The publisher of The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick were granted until July 27 to respond to the lawsuit filed by FBI Director Kash Patel, after a filing revealed that the defendants’ lawyers had reached an agreement with Patel and his attorneys to accept service of the lawsuit on their clients’ behalf.

By the new July deadline, The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick will have had more than three months to respond to the defamation lawsuit, which was filed on April 20, shortly after the outlet published an article claiming Patel has a serious drinking problem that impacts his job performance and leaves him unavailable to staff for extended periods of time.

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Federal Panel Hearing Lawsuits over Tennessee Redistricting Includes Two Trump-Appointed Judges, One Nominated by Obama

Tom Pappert

The panel of federal judges who will decide the fate of four lawsuits filed to prevent Tennessee’s new Congressional map from taking effect before the midterm elections was announced last Wednesday. Two of the judges are appointees of President Donald Trump, while the third was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

According to the order released last Wednesday by the Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has assigned assigned Circuit Judge John Nalbandian of the Sixth Circuit, who was appointed to the circuit court by Trump in 2018, and Chief District Judge Greg Stivers of the Western District of Kentucky, who was nominated to the bench by Obama in 2014.

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U.S. Attorney Denies Investigating Trump Accuser amid Reports Primary Target Is Nonprofit Founded by Democrat Donor Reid Hoffman

Tom Pappert
Andrew Boutros

A statement issued Thursday by the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros of the Northern District of Illinois denied the earlier reporting, originally broken as an exclusive by CNN, claiming that the office had opened an investigation to former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who sued President Donald Trump over sexual abuse claims from the 1990s.

Boutros issued the statement, breaking from typical U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy against commenting on the existence or status of investigations, citing “wide-spread reporting and intense media and public interest,” in a post to social media.

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Nashville Mayor Funds Pro-Illegal Alien Nonprofit TIRRC with $735,000 in City Budget After ‘Years’ of ‘Successful Collaboration’

Tom Pappert
Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell included more than $700,000 in his annual budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a nonprofit supporting illegal aliens living in Tennessee.

TIRRC partnered with the city last year to provide relief for those impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was asked by the Biden administration to support the release of aliens into Tennessee’s interior, and whose affiliated political action committee endorsed O’Connell during his successful 2023 race for mayor.

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DOJ Reportedly Investigates Trump Accuser E. Jean Carroll over Initial Denial that Reid Hoffman Funded Lawsuit

Tom Pappert
E. Jean Carroll / CNN

The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly opened an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who sued President Donald Trump over her claim he sexually abused her in a department store dressing room sometime during the 1990s, over possible perjury committed during a deposition in 2022, when Carroll claimed she received no outside compensation for her litigation.

First revealed by CNN as an exclusive on Wednesday night, Reuters corroborated the reporting on Thursday, and additionally unearthed that the investigation is being conducted in the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros in the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed in April 2025.

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Abrego Garcia Asks Obama-Appointed Judge to Declare Costa Rica Only Legal Destination for Deportation amid Appeal

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The immigration attorneys representing Kilmar Abrego Garica on Wednesday asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, to issue a ruling declaring that Costa Rica is the only legal destination for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport their client, citing his decision to designate the nation his preferred destination after it made diplomatic assurances to the State Department during failed negotiations for a plea deal last year. 

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys submitted the request in response to Xinis instructing the plaintiffs to update the court following the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to appeal her order blocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining Abrego Garcia. 

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Tennessee Real Estate Listing Service Announces National Expansion Using Chicago-Area Model at Center of Zillow Antitrust Lawsuit

Tom Pappert
Real Estate agent

Realtracs, Tennessee’s largest Multiple Listing Service for real estate, revealed plans to expand nationally by partnering with the real estate giant Compass, using a model the company developed in the Chicago area. The program allows homes to be listed as “private exclusives,” first made available to a network of Compass-affiliated real estate agents before hitting the open market.

Proponents say the partnership between Compass and the largest MLS in Chicago, Midwest Real Estate Data LLC (MRED), gives sellers more control over the process, offers them more privacy, and can result in better sale prices, but critics include the real estate and rental listing platform, Zillow, who on May 12 filed a federal antitrust lawsuit, claiming MRED threatened to cut off its access to home listings in response to concerns about the private listings.

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Shelby County DA Alleges White House Pressured Tennessee Lawmakers over ‘Political Differences’ in Lawsuit Challenging Accountability Bills

Tom Pappert
Steve Mulroy

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block new accountability laws, passed this year by the Tennessee General Assembly and recently signed by Governor Bill Lee, arguing his office is being unfairly targeted.

The lawsuit lays partial blame on top members of the Trump administration, who it claims instructed state lawmakers to “deal with” Mulroy.

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Federal Lawsuit Claims Tennessee’s New PBM Law of Violates U.S. Constitution, State Lawmakers ‘Will Be Personally Enriched’

Tom Pappert
Pharmacy

A federal lawsuit claims Tennessee’s new law prohibiting vertical integration between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) violates the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, federal law governing employer-sponsored health plans, rules specific to Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans, and the Constitution’s Takings Clause, which prohibits private property from being taken for public use without compensation.

The lawsuit was filed by CVS and affiliated PBM and insurance companies in the U.S. Court for the Middle District of Tennessee last Thursday, shortly after Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill (SB) 2040, the Freedom, Access, and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act, beginning the countdown for vertically integrated companies to divest by January 1, 2027, ahead of a complete prohibition that will start in January 2028.

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Tennessee U.S. Attorney ‘Evaluating Appeal’ After Obama-Appointed Judge Drops Human Smuggling Case Against Abrego Garcia

Tom Pappert
US Atty Braden Boucek

U.S. Attorney Braden Boucek on Monday told The Tennessee Star that prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee are evaluating plans to appeal the Friday ruling by Obama-appointed District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who dropped the federal human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, determining the Department of Justice (DOJ) “failed to rebut the presumption of vindictiveness.”

“The undisputed evidence shows that the decision to charge Abrego was made by a career prosecutor based solely on the facts and the substantial evidence that a serious crime had been committed and deserved prosecution,” said Boucek.

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Obama-Appointed Judge’s Dismissal of Human Smuggling Case Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia Ignored Evidence Biden-Era FBI Quashed Investigation into 2022 Traffic Stop

Michael Patrick Leahy and Tom Pappert
Judge Wavery Crenshaw and Kilmar Abrego Garcia courtroom sketch

U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw omitted key evidence from his Friday ruling dismissing the federal human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, including reporting by The Tennessee Star that was seemingly referenced during testimony, revealing the “Biden-era FBI” directed Tennessee authorities to release Abrego Garcia during a 2022 traffic stop despite suspecting human trafficking. Instead, the Obama-appointed judge sided with the foreign national, ruling the Trump administration failed to overcome a presumption of vindictive prosecution.

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Gov. Bill Lee Signs PBM Bill Backed by Tennessee’s Pharmacist Lawmakers amid ‘Pending’ Legal Challenge from CVS

Tom Pappert
Bill Lee

Governor Bill Lee on Friday signed Senate Bill (SB) 2040, the Freedom, Access, and Integrity in Registered Pharmacy (FAIR Rx) Act into law. Once fully active in January 2028, it will prohibit vertical integration between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and pharmacies in Tennessee. It will force divestment from any already vertically integrated companies by January 1, 2027.

The legislation was passed with the support of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA), and chief executive officer Dr. Anthony Pudlo recently commended the pharmacists elected to the General Assembly for successfully pushing the legislation through.

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DOJ Promises Appeal After Obama-Appointed Judge Tosses Abrego Garcia Case Despite Insufficient Evidence of Vindictive Prosecution

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The federal human smuggling indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador accused of participating in a human smuggling ring for years, was dismissed for vindictive prosecution on Friday by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice told The Tennessee Star on Friday that the federal government intends to appeal Crenshaw’s decision. 

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Litigants in State Court for Tennessee Redistricting Lawsuit Told to Expect Quick Decision from Three-Judge Panel

Tom Pappert
Judge James Gass, Chancellor Ann Davis, and Chancellor Tony Childress

The litigants in the lawsuit seeking to block the newly-approved congressional districts, arguing the General Assembly exceeded the mandate authorized by Governor Bill Lee in their special legislative session, were reportedly told to expect a quick decision on Wednesday by a panel of three Tennessee state judges appointed to oversee the case. 

Arguments were made on Wednesday before the three-judge panel (pictured above, left-to-right), which reportedly consists of Judge James Gass of Sevierville, Chancellor Anne Martin of Nashville, and Chancellor Tony Childress of Dyersburg.

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Federal Judge Authorizes U.S. Marshals to Serve Lawsuit Against Mitch Snow in Candace Owens Defamation Case

Tom Pappert
Mitch Snow, Candace Owens

A federal magistrate judge in Tennessee on Wednesday granted the request by Brian Harpole, the former head of security to Charlie Kirk, for the U.S. Marshals Service to serve Mitch Snow with the defamation lawsuit targeting him and Candace Owens over his claim that Harpole, Erika Kirk, and members of the military attended a secret meeting in Arizona one day before Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

In his three-page order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Luke Evans offered two reasons justifying the intervention of the Marshals, beginning with the alleged failure by process servers to reach Snow despite multiple attempts.

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Metro Nashville Council Urges NES for ‘Moratorium’ on New Tree Trimming, Cite Canopy Concerns

Tom Pappert

The Metro Nashville Council on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Nashville Electric Service (NES) to place a “moratorium” on its new tree trimming strategy, citing a series of concerns about cutting the city’s “tree canopy,” just months after Winter Storm Fern caused the largest outage in the history of the publicly owned utility, with about half of its 470,000 customers without power during the peak.

After the storm, NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said the utility was “planning on moving forward with a more aggressive tree trimming approach,” and in the interim version of the third-party report recently commissioned by NES, analysts noted the company engaged in extensive tree trimming immediately after the storm.

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Purported Manifesto Left by San Diego Mosque Shooters Names Antioch High School Killer Among Inspirations

Tom Pappert
Islamic Center San Diego

The Tennessee Star on Wednesday obtained a copy of the manifesto purportedly written by one of the teens who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three before taking their own lives shortly after, revealing the Antioch High School killer was listed among the author’s inspirations to commit violence.

Law enforcement has identified the attackers in San Diego as Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Lee Clark, 17. The FBI has additionally confirmed that law enforcement recovered a manifesto and extremist writings connected to the suspects, and multiple news outlets have claimed to receive a copy of the manifesto from law enforcement sources that matches the document obtained by The Star.

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UTC Requires Students Seeking Bachelor’s Degrees to Complete Diversity, Inclusion Curriculum Despite Federal DEI Crackdown

Tom Pappert
UTC students

More than one year after President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at ending all federal funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), including in academia, the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga (UTC) continues to require students seeking a bachelor’s degree to complete a curriculum that appears to be influenced by the controversial ideology.

The university’s website explains that, since 2023, the UTC general education program has included four desired outcomes for students. In its third desired outcome, the university says its students should be educated to, “Cultivate inclusion by recognizing, examining, and reflecting on the diversity of cultural and individual experiences.”

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All Three Federal Lawsuits Attempting to Block Tennessee Redistricting Now Consolidated Under Trump-Appointed Judge

Tom Pappert
TN Lawsuit

Three federal lawsuits filed to stop Tennessee’s successful mid-term redistricting, which saw the state’s final Democratic congressional district reshaped to be friendly to Republican candidates for the first time in more than 50 years, have now been consolidated under a case assigned to a U.S. District Court judge appointed by President Donald Trump. 

U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and the Tennessee Democratic Party filed the first lawsuit challenging the redistricting process on May 7.

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ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit Against Memphis Safe Task Force over Tennessee Law Requiring Retreat from Law Enforcement When Ordered

Tom Pappert
TN National Guard

In a Monday notice to the court, the four Memphis residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who are suing over claims they faced retaliation from the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) due to Tennessee’s law making it a crime to stand within 25 feet of police after being ordered to move,  confirmed their litigation will directly challenge the constitutionality of the law. 

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday accuses the MSTF of maintaining an unconstitutional policy, pattern, and practice of retaliation against individuals in the city who observe, gather information, and record the task force’s operations in public, alleging that law enforcement has engaged in harassment, surveillance, intimidation, unreasonable stops, and abuses of Tennessee’s Halo Law, which made it a Class B misdemeanor to intentionally approach or remain within 25 feet of a law enforcement officer after being ordered to move. 

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Candace Owens Retains Nashville ‘Super Lawyer’ Whose Focus Includes ‘Crisis-Driven Litigation,’ Clients ‘Facing Reputational Risk’

Tom Pappert
Rob Peal

Federal court documents released on Monday reveal that Candace Owens has retained Robert A. Peal, recognized as a “Super Lawyer” from the Nashville firm Sims Funk, to represent her in the defamation lawsuit by Brian Harpole, the former head of security for Charlie Kirk.

Peal announced his appearance on behalf of Owens in a notice to the court last week, confirming he will represent Owens personally, as well as the associated limited liability company (LLC) and the incorporated entity named as defendants in Harpole’s lawsuit.

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‘People First’ Security Division of Block by Block Founded Two Months Ago Starts Patrolling Downtown Nashville

Tom Pappert
Civicity patrol

Civicity, a new security company founded in March by the Kentucky-based Block by Block, reportedly joined law enforcement patrolling downtown Nashville over the weekend, amid the suspension of the city’s last private security partner over allegations its security guards posed as uniformed police, whose five-year contract just expired. 

Originally reported in April to be the new choice of the Central Business Improvement District (CBID), which collects a portion of revenue from downtown businesses and directs them to the nonprofit District Management Corporation (DMC), which in turn is operated by the Nashville Downtown Partnership (NDP), Civicity has reportedly already been contracted to provide services for the remainder of the year.

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Ex-Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Absent on List of Candidates Who Submitted Signatures to Run in Redrawn Districts

Tom Pappert
Megan Barry

Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was not included on the Tennessee Secretary of State’s list of candidates who submitted signatures to qualify for the ballot in one of Tennessee’s congressional districts, following the successful redrawing by Governor Bill Lee and the General Assembly.

Barry was included on the state agency’s Tuesday list of candidates, and the Secretary of State confirmed she had obtained a petition to begin gathering the 25 valid signatures required to obtain ballot access in the newly redrawn districts.

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London Lamar Submits Signatures to Qualify for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District in Blow to Justin Pearson as Steve Cohen Leaves Race

Tom Pappert
London Lamar

The Tennessee Secretary of State published a final list of candidates who had returned petition signatures to qualify for the ballot under the newly passed congressional map, revealing State Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis) submitted the necessary paperwork to compete with State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) for the Democratic nomination to represent the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District.

News first emerged earlier this week that Lamar had pulled a petition, and in its Friday update, the Tennessee state agency confirmed that Lamar had returned the necessary signatures to qualify.

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Filing in Federal Court Claims Co-Defendant in Candace Owens Defamation Case ‘Actively Avoiding Service,’ Requests U.S. Marshals Intervention

Tom Pappert
Candace Owens

Attorneys for Brian Harpole, the former head of security for Charlie Kirk, who is now suing Candace Owens and her former podcast guest Mitch Snow over their statements about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, on Thursday claimed that Snow is “actively avoiding service” from process servers, and asked a federal magistrate judge to authorize the U.S. Marshals Service to intervene.

Filed as a request for miscellaneous relief, Harpole’s attorneys claim that Snow refused to accept service on multiple occasions, including an incident when the process server allegedly encountered “a hostile environment” at his home.

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Federal Lawsuits Attempting to Stop Tennessee Redistricting Consolidated Under Judge Who Refused to Block New Map

Tom Pappert
NAACP

Both federal lawsuits challenging Tennessee’s newly redrawn congressional map have now been assigned to U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell, who on Thursday denied the request by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to grant a temporary restraining order.

The decision was announced in a Thursday order by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, who ruled that the claims in the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were too similar to the first federal lawsuit filed over the new map, submitted by NAACP attorneys, to justify assignment to a separate judge.

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Tennessee A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti Announces ‘Final Victory’ in Lawsuit Challenging Biden-Era Title IX Rules

Tom Pappert
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Thursday announced that the special interest groups challenging his successful litigation to block Biden-era changes to Title IX agreed to drop their appeal, sealing a “final victory” in the legal challenge launched in early 2024. 

Skrmetti and the legal coalition behind the lawsuit, which includes the attorneys general of Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia, originally received a favorable ruling in January 2025, blocking the Biden administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX to include gender identity and sexual orientation. 

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Congressman Andy Ogles Introduces ASSIMILATION Act to Dramatically Cut Immigration, Mandate E-Verify, Strangle H-1B Program

Tom Pappert
Rep Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Thursday introduced the American System for Sustainable Immigration and Mass Immigration Limitations Achieved Through Imposing Oversight Nationally (ASSIMILATION) Act, an 82-page bill that would result in a comprehensive revision of the process for legal immigration to the United States. 

Announcing his legislation in a post to social media, Ogles said he and Tuberville aimed to gut the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, which critics say incentivized immigration from non-European countries, as well as various provisions of the Immigration Act that became law during the 1990s. 

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State Rep. Justin Jones, Robert Reich Share Misinformation About Tennessee Redistricting Process

Tom Pappert
Justin Jones and Robert Reich

State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on Tuesday was interviewed by Robert Reich, the political analyst and former U.S. Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration, when both appeared to suggest the lack of political questions on the federal census means Tennessee lawmakers drew their new congressional map based entirely on race.

In an interview conducted after Tennessee state lawmakers and Governor Bill Lee approved a new congressional map in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision reining in districts drawn based on their racial composition, Reich asked Jones how Republicans in the General Assembly were able to craft districts based on partisan leanings.

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Congressman Andy Ogles Says Biden DOJ Tried to ‘Willfully Violate the Constitution’ When FBI Seized Phone, Emails

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles

Leading the “Weaponized and Wiretrapped” press conference featuring congressional Republicans, U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on Wednesday recounted how he was targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under former President Joe Biden, which he said caused the FBI to serve a search warrant at his residence to seize his cell phone following his 2024 primary election victory. 

“I’d been outspent four to five to one, [and] we’d won overwhelmingly, so it was a day with my family that should have really been a celebration and and relief. My son, our little one, goes outside, takes the dog out, and across the street – we live out in the country on top of a hill on a farm – so these cars were out of place, and he comes in and says, ‘Dad, there’s some cars across the street,’ said Ogles.

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Brent Taylor Announces 30 Endorsements in First Week of Campaign for Tennessee’s Redrawn 9th Congressional District

Tom Pappert
Brent Taylor

State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Wednesday revealed his campaign to represent Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District has received 30 endorsements since he announced his candidacy last Thursday. Endorsements collected by Taylor include multiple members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation, leaders and legislators in the General Assembly, and prosecutors and sheriffs throughout the newly-redrawn district. 

Taylor’s list includes U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who both endorsed his campaign at launch, but also highlights endorsements from U.S. Representatives Di

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Disgraced Ex-Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Tennessee State Sen. London Lamar Among Democrats Pulling Petitions for New Congressional Districts

Tom Pappert
Barry and Lamar

The Tennessee Secretary of State (TSOS) on Tuesday released a new list of candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, revealing more than a dozen new candidates have pulled petitions to begin gathering signatures ahead of potential congressional campaigns.

Prominent Democrats now collecting signatures include former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who has pulled a petition to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District. Barry, who resigned in 2018 after pleading guilty to felony theft of public funds used to facilitate an extramarital affair with her bodyguard, last ran for Congress in the 7th Congressional District in 2024. Her record was expunged in 2021.

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FBI, TDOS Confirm Investigations After Police Receive over 10 Alleged Swatting Calls for Nashville Area High Schools

Tom Pappert
person on phone

State and federal investigations have been confirmed after at least nine schools in Metro Nashville and the surrounding area were reportedly targeted with alleged swatting attempts, resulting in lockdowns or lockouts as local police verified there were no threats. 

Threats were called in on Monday to at least nine schools in Nashville, Jackson, Franklin, Smyrna, La Vergne, Murfreesboro, and Clarksville, according to WSMV 4, while WKRN reported that the same school targeted in La Vergne was swatted a second time on Tuesday.

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State Rep. Justin Pearson Accused of ‘Evil Race-Baiting’ After Confirming Intention to Run in Tennessee’s Redrawn 9th Congressional District

Tom Pappert
Justin Pearson

Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) was accused of using “race baiting” in his campaign advertisement announcing the relaunch of his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the 9th Congressional District, where first launched his campaign to unseat U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) before the Governor Bill Lee signed the newly redrawn districts into law.

As part of the redistricting legislation, candidates must refile, or file notice they no longer intend to run, by Friday. With his video, Pearson confirmed he intends to run in the same district, despite most analysts saying the district now leans overwhelmingly Republican.  

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Tennessee AG Skrmetti Says Redistricting Lawsuit Must Be Heard by Three-Judge Panel, Eliminating Chance for Quick Injunction

Tom Pappert
Skrmetti NAACP

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti moved to halt progress in the lawsuit by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to block Tennessee’s new congressional map from taking effect, arguing the litigation cannot move forward until the Tennessee Supreme Court decides whether to appoint a three-judge panel to oversee the case.

Citing 2021 legislation requiring any civil litigation challenging the constitutionality of a state statute to be assigned to such a panel, as well as newly passed legislation imposing the same requirement for challenges to redistricting, Skrmetti’s Friday filing will automatically halt progress on the lawsuit until the state Supreme Court makes its decision.

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Nashville Mayor Dismisses Property Tax Hikes as ‘Cost of Doing Business’ in City with Rising Property Values

Tom Pappert
Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday described the triple digit percentage property tax increases experienced by business owners as “a cost of doing business” associated with the rise in the value of properties in the city.

With popular businesses hit with tax hikes as high as 356 percent, and some already announcing closures, O’Connell on Thursday cited the recent increases to Nashville property prices, and suggested most Nashvillians would trade the higher taxes for higher property values.

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