The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of a transgender woman – a male that identifies as a female – challenging the enforcement of a Tennessee law that defines “sex” as “biological sex.”
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Conservative commentator Steven Crowder released an Officer Safety Bulletin issued by the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security in response to a bomb threat targeting supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The document was issued in response to a Guardian Incident Report received by the Memphis Office of the FBI on February 29, regarding a threat made by a man named Benjamin Matthew Dayton via text message to his mother.
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A bill authorizing the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to create a voucher program for the purpose of offsetting the cost of individuals taking a handgun safety course for the first time will take effect on January 1, 2024.
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A former Tennessee official and her husbanded pleaded guilty on Thursday to illegally producing “hundreds” Tennessee driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.
Cheryl Huff and husband Mario Paz-Mejia, both of Knoxville, pleaded guilty to one “count of conspiracy to produce, without lawful authority, identification documents or false identification documents,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which revealed in a press release that Huff abused her position at the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSHS) to create the illicit documents.
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This week, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSOHS), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), and Tennessee Highway Safety Office joined multiple law enforcement partners in announcing the Tennessee Interstate Challenge traffic safety initiative for this year’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
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According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDSHS), there will be no repercussions for a Thursday riot foiled by Tennessee State Troopers at the State Capitol.
“There were no arrests made on Thursday,” TDSHS communications director Wesley Moster told The Tennessee Star Monday. “There are no investigations or criminal charges pending.”
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Tennesseans planning on visiting the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) before the new year are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to help those in need.
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Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Leahy was joined in the studio by all-star panelist Ben Cunningham.
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Terry Ashe, the former 30-year-long Wilson County sheriff, reportedly has accepted a job with Gov. Bill Lee’s office. Ashe took a job as deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security in mid-January, according to a story by The Lebanon Democrat. Ashe also works as a Wilson County commissioner, and he told The Democrat he does not believe that is a conflict of interest. He was sheriff from 1982-2012. Gov. Bill Lee’s office has not issued any announcements about the appointment, and Ashe is not listed on the department’s website. Ashe most recently served as executive director of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association. His biography at the group’s website says he served there since fall 2012 after retiring as sheriff of Wilson County. He was the second-longest serving sheriff in state history and the longest-serving sheriff in Wilson County history. The sheriff’s association said in a Jan. 19 Facebook post, “Our Executive Director and friend, Sheriff Terry Ashe, Ret., has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of the TN Department of Safety & Homeland Security. He has been a great leader and advocate for our Association and our TSA Family across the State. We will all miss…
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Gov.-elect Bill Lee has named Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Long as commissioner of the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The Tennessee Journal’s On the Hill reported the appointment Monday. The department oversees the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and drivers’ license centers, among other functions. Long, the Tennessee Sheriff Association’s sheriff of the year of 2013, will take over the post from David Purkey, who was named safety commissioner in 2016. Purkey, a former state trooper and mayor of Hamblen County, had served as assistant commissioner since 2011. Long succeeded former Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley, who resigned in 2008 as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in Davidson and Williamson counties over fraudulently obtaining prescription pain pills, the Journal reported. Long previously said he first met and was impressed by Lt. Gov./Senate Speaker Rand McNally (R-TN-05) during Operation Rocky Top, a law enforcement sting of political corruption in the late 1980s when McNally helped prosecutors. Long is a graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, according to his biography on the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office website. He received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence Degree from Nashville School of…
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The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security inappropriately used $112,614 in asset forfeiture funds on catering, a luncheon, banquet tickets and retail food, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice. The report released this week looked at expenses from 2014 through 2016. Through the DOJ’s Equitable Sharing Program, state and local law enforcement agencies directly involved in cases resulting in federal forfeiture can claim a portion of federally forfeited cash, property and proceeds. But guidelines restrict using the assets for law enforcement purposes only. The purchase of food and beverages is included on a list of unallowable expenses. “The use of equitable sharing funds to purchase catering, a luncheon, banquet tickets and retail food is contrary to the Equitable Sharing Guide and its goal of promoting and maintaining the integrity of the Equitable Sharing Program to merit public confidence and support,” the report notes. When the DOJ presented its findings to the state Department of Safety, its controller said he did not know food-related purchases were not allowed, according to the report. Other officials said they considered catering expenses to be in support of law enforcement activities. The DOJ report also noted that the state Department…
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