The woman who interrupted a moment of silence last month at a Marsha Blackburn rally in Nashville has come forward to justify what she did and say why she believes Blackburn is a white supremacist.
The Tennessean recently gave the woman, Katie Cowley of Ooltewah, a forum to bash Blackburn and Republicans in general.
“I interrupted because as a registered nurse, mom of five, wife of one of those first responders who must see, process and live with the incidents of violence that she and extremists like her are inciting,” Cowley said.
Cowley said in her column that no one hired her to disrupt the gathering and she wasn’t part of any organized group.
“And what I saw from the outset of the event was more disturbing than I had anticipated,” Cowley wrote.
“I saw young African-American students — who were hard not to notice, since they were virtually the only non-white people in the room — approached by a large man with an earpiece and asked to leave.”
These young African-American students, Cowley went on to say, never disrupted the event.
The Tennessee Star later identified these two African-Americans as Janeisha Harris and Vanderbilt Divinity School student Justin Jones.
Cowley called Blackburn’s moment of silence — to honor victims of a mass shooting the previous day in Pittsburgh — “an empty one.”
“She and the rest of Trump’s extremist faction demonizes those different than rich, white, and Christian,” Cowley said.
“Their policies fuel that very violence that has our country in a seemingly endless moment of silence. Marsha Blackburn will be our U.S. senator come January, but as long her rhetoric and policies are rooted in racial division and white supremacy, I will continue to call her out.”
As The Star reported, no one singled Jones and Harris out because they were African-Americans. There were plenty of other African-Americans at the rally, and no one bothered them.
Tennessee GOP officials wanted Jones gone because they recognized him as a left-wing instigator at prior events.
Jones initially refused a security guard’s direct order to leave, as shown on a video he uploaded to his personal Facebook page. Jones said he had a right to stay, regardless.
The showroom is private property.
Law enforcement officials eventually removed Jones by force, even though Jones physically resisted their efforts.
Harris disrupted the event moments after Jones left the room.
Other protestors — unlike Jones — cooperated with law enforcement and were not detained.
Nashville authorities arrested Jones three days later and charged him with criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
Jones accepted an American Civil Liberties Union award in November 2016.
According to video of the event, which Jones’ grandmother posted on her personal Facebook page, Jones called upon young people to fight for liberty and justice.
“Young people and those who are young at heart, we have five words for you,” Jones said as he accepted the award.
“See you in the streets. We will disrupt. We will organize. We will shut down injustice. Know we will not normalize hatred in this country.”
Nashville Police arrested Jones in August of last year during a vigil at Bicentennial Park to honor people killed during the Charlottesville “United the Right” rally, according to Patch.com.
Four people, including Jones, left the park and marched to the nearby First Tennessee Park, home of the Nashville Sounds, the website went on to say.
Jones and the other three people tried to enter the park after a game ended, even though cops warned them not to. One of Jones’ companions reportedly resisted arrest. That suspect reportedly had marijuana, a grinder, and a small pipe in her purse. Another of Jones’ three friends purposefully tripped a police officer and later resisted arrest.
The website went on to say Jones “was told by police not to jump in front of moving marked police cars.”
Quoting from Jones’ arrest report, the website said, he “then jumped in front of a moving patrol car causing a danger to himself and the action served no legitimate purpose.”
As The Tennessee Ledger reported in a glowing piece, Jones grew up in Oakland, Calif. a city well known for producing far-left fringe protestors.
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].
“See you in the streets.” Eventually, the left is going to push too far and will not like the response of the right at that point.