Vanderbilt Divinity School student and left-wing activist Justin Jones and his legal team are out to discredit Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott.
As such, the focus is now on Northcott — and not on Jones and not on Jones’ alleged assault of two state legislators.
As The Tennessee Star reported, Jones allegedly aimed a beverage at outgoing Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada — but he instead allegedly hit State Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington.
Moody told The Star at the time that the beverage, whatever it was, was hot.
Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk made Northcott a special prosecutor in Jones’ case.
Jones had another court date this week. His legal team has a problem with Northcott going to other venues to express his private views about Islam and same-sex marriages.
Northcott told The Star in an emailed statement that Jones and his legal team want Northcott disqualified from trying the case.
“They were unable to cite any law to support their position. I set out the law as clearly as I could, and the court denied their motion. That said, she gave the defense the opportunity to review whether the appropriate protocol for selecting a special prosecutor was followed,” Northcott said.
“They are to brief any issue that they believe exists with that. We are to appear on August 15 at 9 a.m. to resolve any motion that the defense files as to that issue. Hopefully, from that point, we can deal with the facts of the case and begin to move towards resolving the actual criminal charges against Mr. Jones.”
Nick Leonardo, a Democrat who once served on the Metro Council and as a General Sessions Court judge, represents Jones.
Jones is currently banned from entering the state capitol in Nashville because of the alleged assault.
A Facebook video posted this week showed Jones telling his followers he intends to set foot in the capitol again, regardless.
“I’ll be honest with you. And, I don’t know where Nick is, but they did not want me to come before this court today,” Jones said.
“They wanted me to accept the deal of not going to the capitol, and I refuse to take that deal, because that is the people’s house.”
As reported, Jones did not face any consequences for allegedly disrupting a Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville last fall. Judge Dianne Turner, a Democrat, dismissed Jones’ case in that matter in what authorities described as “a flat dismissal.”
As The Star reported last fall, Jones’ own words in 2016 contradict his many claims he engages only in peaceful political protest.
As The Tennessee Ledger reported in a glowing piece, Jones grew up in Oakland, Calif. a city well known for producing far-left fringe protesters.
Jones came to Nashville after receiving an endowed scholarship to study social justice and activism at Fisk University, The Ledger reported.
In February 2017, The Star reported Jones was among several local left-wing activists who harassed and intimidated State Sen. Mae Beavers and her staff at their offices at the State Capitol in Nashville.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] The Tennessee Star reported last month, Jones’ legal team had a problem with Northcott going to other venues to express his private […]
This young lady needs her head examined.
Who is paying for Jones’s high-priced lawyer? How does this “student” pay his bills?
Enquiring minds want to know….