The protests at the state capitol have forced the Tennessee Highway Patrol to spend nearly $900,000 in overtime costs.
And that’s just between May 31, around the time the protests started, up until June 30.
This, according to THP spokesman Lindsey R. Balthrop in an email to The Tennessee Star Thursday.
“For May 31, 2020 – June 30, 2020, the total amount of overtime in dollars worked by Tennessee Highway Patrol members regarding the protests and working at the Capitol was $850,689.25,” Balthrop said.
“The travel expenses through June 30, 2020 were $27,936.90. This number only reflects the travel expenses at the end of June 2020 because travel was not recorded until the end of June.”
Balthrop said she could not speculate how this extra spending will affect the THP’s overall budget.
Left-wing activist Justin Jones, who has overseen many of the protests, said on his Facebook page Thursday that state officials don’t have to spend this money.
“Unnecessary waste of public funds here in Tennessee by Gov. Bill Lee to create police state and intimidate nonviolent protest,” Jones wrote.
“This money could go to healthcare and housing costs for the people, especially amidst ongoing pandemic which the Governor has ignored.”
As The Tennessee Star reported last month, THP officers removed protesters’ extra equipment from Legislative Plaza after they failed to comply with an agreement made between the two sides.
Demonstrators renamed the plaza the Ida B. Wells Plaza. Wells was an early civil rights leader.
When organizers started this protest on June 12, they asked for “government officials to defund and demilitarize the police, remove what they call racist statues, and fire Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson.”
Eventually, Anderson decided to retire in six months after facing pressure from left-wing activists and Metro Council members.
As The Star reported this month, THP officers arrested Jones and several other activists at Legislative Plaza. As reported, Jones and several of those activists demand a meeting with Gov. Bill Lee.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee State Troopers” by Caleb King. CC BY 2.0.
Send the bill to MiniCooper AND then divide thru all the Dem TN Leg Reps who came out aiding and abetting not to mention encouraging professional protester jones.
WHY does some Reporter not go in depth in reporting about jones? Supposedly he graduated in 2017–HOW does he live? Where does he live? Does he work? How does he pay his Bills? What does he do to earn money to eat and pay rent?
Instead this little violent, emotionally stunted, spoiled, entitled little california mama’s boy radical is treated like he’s SOMEBODY.
WHERE IS THE PRESS that will expose this little lunatic and his band of enablers?
Simple solution. Send Justin Jones the bill. Financially ruin him just like the left has done to so many.
Justin Jones is a Christian socialist following in the footsteps of the Saul Alinsky-influenced Chicago Catholic Church community organizing movement.
https://sojo.net/magazine/march-april-2000/saul-alinsky-goes-church
This strain of socialist power activism came to dominate the Sociology dept. at Vanderbilt due to the influence of Daniel Cornfield, husband of ACLU TN chief, Hedy Weinberg, and now has a base in the Vanderbilt Divinity School where social justice activism has become the doctrine of Trinitarian Christianity.
No Justin, there would have been more property destruction and possible looting if those officers had not been there.
Justin Jones the darling of the media was a consultant on THP overtime pay as he caused it, what a treasonous piece of trash. Jones should be deported to California and take Cooper with him so the communist pair can plan their next protest together! Their protest can be called “SCUM UNITE” !
…looting and rioting pays better than Uber.