U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) announced on Tuesday that the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees are now reviewing documents and communications submitted by Mayor Freddie O’Connell in response to the probe launched earlier this month over the mayor’s actions in response to a federal immigration enforcement operation that saw nearly 200 illegal immigrants detained last month.
Ogles launched the probe, demanding internal documents and communications from Metro Nashville, after The Tennessee Star reported O’Connell modified an executive order that mandates Metro employees report interactions with federal immigration officials to his office, and that he established a “Belonging Fund” to raise money for those impacted by enforcement.
The Star also reported the fund was seeded by nonprofits that previously received millions in federal tax dollars in Biden-era stimulus money from Metro Nashville.
“My team, along with the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, recently received documents and communications from the Nashville Mayor’s Office regarding Mayor O’Connell’s potential city-wide obstruction campaign against ICE patriots,” Ogles revealed in a Tuesday post to the social media platform X.
Ogles, whose congressional district includes much of Nashville, then said the committees are “currently reviewing the materials,” and advised the public to expect “updates soon on the next steps in our investigation,” and reiterated the stakes for the mayor.
“Understand this: we will follow the facts wherever they lead, we will expose the truth, and we will defend Tennessee,” wrote Ogles. “Everything is on the table!”
My team, along with the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, recently received documents and communications from the Nashville Mayor’s Office regarding Mayor O’Connell’s potential city-wide obstruction campaign against ICE patriots.
We are currently reviewing the…
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) June 17, 2025
O’Connell previously stated that his office would “appropriately” respond to the probe, and claimed he was “not particularly concerned” because Metro was “guided by a full understanding of state and federal law” when reacting to the federal immigration enforcement.
During the same remarks, O’Connell acknowledged his administration published the names of federal immigration officials to an online portal, which was created to comply with the executive order, asserting that the names were not posted intentionally.
“It was never the intent of the executive order for those names to be posted. They were removed as soon as we were made aware that they had been posted,” said O’Connell, before stating the names were posted in “the interest” of “transparency,” and that the mayor’s intention was not “obstruction” or “anything that would be considered harmful.”
Amid the increased scrutiny from Congress, the mayor has requested the Metro Nashville Council approve the establishment of a new office that will be funded with $130,000 from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which his office announced last month would be Metro Nashville’s “partner” for the “Belonging Fund.”
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
freaky freddie sure loves illegals
imagine if he loved legal residents this much
Thank you Andy Ogles.