Category: Tennessee

TN DAs General Conference Files Illegal Brief Supporting Shelby County DA Mulroy’s Effort to Free Convicted Murderer, AG Skrmetti Tells Court Brief Not Legal

Tom Pappert
Skrmetti Mulroy

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) filed an amicus brief last week, which was labeled illegal in a Tuesday response by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, supporting the efforts of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy to free a death row inmate who was convicted of two murders over 40 years ago.

The conference filed the amicus brief in a lawsuit brought by death row inmate Larry McKay against Tennessee over a law passed by the General Assembly in 2023, which expands the number of capital cases that the state’s attorney general must directly oversee.

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Special Counsel Robert Hur Says Biden ‘Willfully’ Kept, Shared Classified Memos but Won’t Be Charged Because of His Poor Memory

Just the News
Biden Hur

Special counsel Robert Hur concluded in a stinging report released Thursday that President Joe Biden willfully kept classified documents from his time as vice president, shared them with an author and knew he had them as far back as 2017, but he recommended against prosecution.

Hur said that part of the reason he declined to prosecute the president’s age and poor memory would create reasonable doubt for jurors.

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Matthew Giffin: Jon Meacham and Liz Cheney Refused to Take Questions at Polarizing Vanderbilt Event That Claimed to Be About ‘Unity’

Kaitlin Housler
Liz Cheney

Matthew Giffin, reporter at The Tennessee Star and student at Middle Tennessee State University, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss former Wyoming U.S. Representative Liz Cheney’s appearance at an event at Vanderbilt University this week.

On Tuesday, Cheney joined Jon Meacham, former MSNBC contributor and current co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, for an event titled “Defending Our Democracy” where the pair discussed Cheney’s work on the January 6th Committee and the “health of democracy and the presidency.”

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles Introduces the Send Them Back Act

Kaitlin Housler
Ogles Illegal Immigrants

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would make all illegal aliens who have entered the U.S. since January 20, 2021 eligible for expedited removal from the country.

Ogles’ bill is titled the Sending Evading Non-Documented Threats Home Especially Migrants Biden Accepted Carelessly and Knowingly (SEND THEM BACK) Act.

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Democrat State Rep. Gloria Johnson to Run for Two Offices at Same Time: Re-Election to TN House and Longshot Bid for U.S. Senate

Kaitlin Housler

Democrat State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) intends to file for reelection to the Tennessee House of Representatives despite being five months into her longshot U.S. Senate bid to unseat incumbent Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), according to a report by Knox News.

Johnson is one of the “Tennessee Three” lawmakers who commandeered the House floor to demand gun control in the wake of the Covenant School last year.

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Rep. Ogles Blasts Biden Administration About Illegal Aliens Coming to Tennessee

Peter D'Abrosca
Andy Ogles

A Tennessee congressman blasted the Biden administration after it was revealed last week that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) knew that nearly 600 illegal aliens planned to travel to Middle Tennessee after they were released from detainment.

“Joe Biden’s efforts to transport illegal aliens into Franklin, Davidson County, and Mt. Juliet are reprehensible,” said Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on X. “Middle Tennessee deserves answers. That’s why I’ve sent a letter to [DHS Secretary] Mayorkas demanding responses to all my questions regarding this troubling incursion into our community.”

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TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ Partnering With Local Girl Scouts

Peter D'Abrosca
Nobody Trashes Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee project is working with local Girl Scouts to give them patches for helping with the cause.

“Girl Scout Troops are highly committed to community service projects and environmental education, and we are thrilled to have participation from all three councils representing the entire state of Tennessee participating in our Nobody Trashes Tennessee patch program,” said Brittany Morris, TDOT’s transportation program supervisor in a release. “Within the first two months of launching the program in Middle Tennessee, we had approximately 1,000 Girl Scouts earn a Nobody Trashes Tennessee patch. We are excited to have even more participation from Girl Scouts this year and have numerous ways for them to get involved.”

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Billionaire Investor Scott Bessent: Stock Market ‘Looking Forward’ to Trump Victory in 2024

Kaitlin Housler
Trump Stock Market

Scott Bessent, billionaire investor and founder of Key Square Capital Management Fund, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss how the stock market’s rally coincides with former President Donald Trump being ahead in the 2024 presidential election polls.

In a letter to investors, which was recently leaked to Bloomberg, Bessent’s Key Square Capital Management Fund said it believes that equity markets are “in the midst of a ‘Trump Rally’ that will last as long as he remains ahead of Biden in the polls.”

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Corey DeAngelis Says Tennessee School Choice Bill Would Allow Students to Escape ‘One Size Fits All System’

Kaitlin Housler
Classroom Learning

School choice activist Corey A. DeAngelis joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a rally he, Robby Starbuck, and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) held in Nashville supporting Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice plan, known as the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

On Tuesday, DeAngelis, Starbuck, AFP, and other school choice advocates held a Rally for School Choice & Parents’ Rights at the state Capitol in support of the governor’s school choice plan.

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Tennessee House Staffer Suspended over Alleged Heated Exchange with State Rep. Justin Jones

Tom Pappert
Justin Jones Torrey Harris

A Tennessee House staffer for Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) was suspended from her position as an Executive Legislative Analyst until after the 2024 legislative session concludes.

The Tennessee General Assembly Director of Legislative Administration confirmed in a January 30 letter that the staffer “had an inappropriate confrontation with a Member of the House of Representatives” and “failed to maintain a satisfactory and harmonious working relationship” and disrupting work in the Tennessee House.

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State Senator Kerry Roberts Praises Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State Address

Kaitlin Housler

State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State Address delivered the prior night.

Throughout Lee’s address to state lawmakers and Tennesseans, he was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers, who first became vocal as the governor announced his plans to expand school choice and public education funding in the Volunteer State.

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Clint Brewer Says Tennessee’s Lawsuit Against the NCAA ‘Isn’t Just About College Sports’

Kaitlin Housler
UT Football

All-star panelist Clint Brewer joined Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy where he offered his thoughts on Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Skrmetti joined Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in filing the lawsuit against the NCAA last week, arguing the organization violates federal antitrust laws with its “anticompetitive restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).”

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Unjustly Convicted J6 Defendant Stewart Parks Now Inside FCI Memphis Prison, Which Boasts Decade-Long Smuggling Problem

Tom Pappert

January 6 defendant Stewart Parks surrendered at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis on Tuesday to begin an eight month sentence for his peaceful actions on January 6.

FCI Memphis, where Parks was told he would be in the minimum security camp, regularly generates headlines due to smuggling of controlled substances and weapons into the prison.

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Liz Cheney Visits Vanderbilt, Warns Democracy in Danger by Trump Supporters

Matthew Giffin

Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY-at large) and former MSNBC contributor Jon Meacham warned their audience at Vanderbilt University of increasing support for former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

During the public conversation on January 6, titled “Defending Our Democracy,” Meacham and Cheney agreed that “Trumpism” is a cult and suggested the country may have to be recovered by “great violence and upheaval.”

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UAW Says Majority of Workers at Tennessee Volkswagen Plant Have Voted to Unionize

Peter D'Abrosca

According to a statement from United Auto Workers (UAW), more than half of the employees at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant have voted to unionize. 

“A majority of workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant have signed cards to join the UAW, less than sixty days after the workers announced their campaign to form a union at the German automaker’s only US assembly plant,” according to a UAW press release.

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News Station Poll: 97 Percent Oppose Releasing Violent Criminals Without Bail

Peter D'Abrosca

According to a poll by The National Desk that is circulating on local Tennessee news websites, 97 percent of respondents said they believe that violent alleged criminals should not be released back onto the streets without bail.

The poll, which is running on WTCV in Chattanooga and WZTV in Nashville, asks respondents, “Do you think those arrested for violent crimes should be released without bail?”

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Michael Patrick Leahy on J6 Defendant Reporting to Memphis Prison: ‘What Kind of Safety Is Stewart Parks Going to Have There?’

Kaitlin Housler
Stewart Parks

Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star Michael Patrick Leahy dedicated a segment during Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the imprisonment of January 6 defendant Stewart Parks, who self-reported for incarceration at the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis on Tuesday to serve an eight-month sentence for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

D.C. Circuit Court Judge Amit P. Mehta, who has presided over several trials related to the January 6 Capitol riots, sentenced Parks in November 2023 to three years imprisonment on misdemeanor trespassing, disorderly conduct, and theft charges. Parks, however, will serve his sentence concurrently, reducing his term to eight months behind bars.

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Unjustly Convicted J6 Defendant Stewart Parks Enjoys Last Minutes of Freedom Before Reporting to Prison

Kaitlin Housler
Stewart Parks

Stewart Parks, a local entrepreneur and former candidate to represent Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, joined the newsmaker line on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy one hour before reporting to the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis to serve an eight-month sentence for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Parks was sentenced in November 2023 to three years imprisonment on misdemeanor trespassing, disorderly conduct, and theft charges by D.C. Circuit Court Judge Amit P. Mehta, who has presided over several trials related to the January 6 Capitol riots. Parks, however, will serve his sentence concurrently beginning on Tuesday, reducing his term to eight months behind bars.

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Tennessee State Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Make Blocking a Highway a Class D Felony Offense

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) recently filed legislation to make blocking a highway a Class D felony.

Under current law, it is classified as a Class A misdemeanor when a defendant “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly” obstructs a public highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, or hallway.

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J6 Defendant Stewart Parks Imprisoned After Judge Amit Mehta Rejected Request for Freedom Pending Appeal; Mehta Claimed Parks Lied in Court but Cited No Evidence to That Effect

Tom Pappert
Stewart Parks FBI

In an order refusing his request to remain free while appealing his conviction, D.C. Circuit Court Judge Amit P. Mehta accused Stewart Parks, a Tennessee entrepreneur and former congressional candidate who was convicted in a January 6 trial, of lying in court and spreading “falsehoods” about the events of that day.

Parks (pictured above in the moments prior to his incarceration) complied with Mehta’s order and self-reported for incarceration at the Federal Correctional Institution, Memphis, Tennessee, on Tuesday, February 6 at 2:00 pm Central Time and is currently serving the eight-month prison term to which Judge Mehta sentenced him.

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Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor Urges TBI to Investigate, Arrest Pro-Palestine Protesters Who Blocked Traffic on I-40 in Memphis

Kaitlin Housler
Brent Taylor

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a letter he sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) regarding its response to a group of pro-Palestine protesters that blocked traffic in both directions on I-40 in Memphis over the weekend.

On Saturday, a group of pro-Palestine protesters commandeered the Mississippi River Bridge on I-40 in Memphis, shutting down traffic in both directions for nearly two hours and leaving motorists with no way to cross the Mississippi River as the I-55 river bridge was under construction.

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Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles Previews Upcoming Vote on Mayorkas Impeachment, Senate Border Deal Discussions

Kaitlin Housler
Rep. Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the Senate’s so-called “border deal” and the House of Representatives’ upcoming vote on two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

On the upcoming impeachment vote against Mayorkas, Ogles said the votes in the House “should be there” to impeach the secretary, adding, “We have an obligation to move forward and hold him accountable and put on the record that you can’t just ignore our laws in this country.”

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Former Trump Campaign Spokesman Steve Cortes Calls Senate Border Deal a ‘Monstrosity’

Kaitlin Housler
Steve Cortes

Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss the Senate’s recently unveiled border deal.

On Sunday, the Senate Appropriations Committee announced the details of the $118.3 billion emergency spending package that would fund U.S. national security efforts in Ukraine, Israel, and at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Tennessee State Sen. Raumesh Akbari Files Bill to Allow House Arrest for Prisoners After Age 60, Including Murderers

Tom Pappert

Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) filed SB 2757 on Thursday, called the Restoration of Dignity for the Elderly Act, which would allow criminals who have served more than half of their sentence and are at least 60 to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest.

A summary for SB 2757 would require the Tennessee Department of Correction “to create a five-year pilot program for the release” of inmates who are defined as elderly, which the bill defines as over the age of 60, and have “served a minimum of 65 percent of the sentence imposed,” to be released under house arrest.

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Tennessee Lawmakers Blast Border Bill

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee’s elected Republicans are taking to the airwaves to oppose a 370 page spending bill that claims to address the crisis at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. 

“It is against the law for an individual to illegally cross into our country — it’s incredible that still needs to be said. We are a nation of law and order, yet the Biden administration has allowed over 8.8 million illegal immigrants to flood our border,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on X. 

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‘Civility is a Strength’: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee Delivers Sixth State of the State Address Amid Anti-School Choice Jeers

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee held his sixth State of the State Address on Monday, outlining his vision for Tennessee for the next year and the remainder of his administration. After highlighting the shared history and heritage of Tennesseans, and the strong economic position of Tennessee, the governor highlighted school choice, artificial intelligence (AI), and a streamlined regulatory framework among his goals for 2024. “As we enter our sixth year of working together, the State of our State is strong, and resilient, and ready for the future, and that is thanks to the hard work of the people in this room.” Lee began, “But there is more work to do, the world around us is changing every day, brings new challenges, unique challenges, Tennesseans are counting on us to face those challenges with wisdom and discernment.” “I’ve got three years left, there’s a lot to do, and we cannot, should not slow down, not for a second,” the governor declared. Throughout Lee’s address, he was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers, who first became vocal as the governor announced his plans to expand school choice and public education funding in Tennessee. As he attempted to turn to a different subject, a heckler appeared…

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24 Hours Before Reporting to Prison Unjustly Convicted J6 Defendant Stewart Parks Says ‘Judicial Elites in DC Want to Stomp Me Down’

Kaitlin Housler

Stewart Parks, a local entrepreneur and former candidate to represent Tennessee’s 5th congressional district, joined Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his last-minute plans and overall thoughts before reporting to the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis on Tuesday to serve an 8-month sentence for being present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

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Trump Blasts Senate Border Bill: ‘Don’t Fall for It’

The Center Square

Many Republicans already are criticizing a border bill expected to be voted on in the U.S. Senate.

Former President Donald Trump blasted the proposed legislation Monday, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called it “dead on arrival.”

More than 11 million illegal immigrants have come across the border into the U.S. since President Joe Biden first took office, more than the population of about 40 U.S. states.

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Tennessee House Democrats Upset Over ‘Do Not Stand with Child Rapists’ Sign, Celebrate Refusal of State Rep. Jones to Lead Pledge of Allegiance

Tom Pappert

Tennessee State House Representative G.A. Hardaway (D-Knoxville) objected to signs urging lawmakers to stand against child rapists during a meeting of the House Criminal Justice Committee held just days prior to Haradaway’s defense of Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville), who refused to lead the legislative body in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition told The Tennessee Star that activists affiliated with the group were present at the Tennessee General Assembly last Monday, holding signs urging lawmakers, “Do not stand with child rapists,” following a subcommittee vote by Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) against HB 1663.

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Bullied, Targeted, and Harassed: A Turning Point USA Student Shares Her Story of Oppression at East Tennessee State University

Matthew Giffin
Lakie Derrick

Lakie Derrick, now 21, first traveled less than 30 miles to attend East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the fall of 2020. She had always known her hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, to be a relatively conservative city.

In 2016, the two counties that contain Kingsport overwhelmingly voted to elect Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Washington County, where ETSU is located, did the same that year and supported Trump again in 2020. Only two Tennessee counties held blue through the 2022 gubernatorial election.

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Convicted Georgia Sex Offender Dead After Kidnapping Tennessee Girl, Ramming Police

Peter D'Abrosca
Edward Aherns

A convicted sex offender from Georgia is dead after an encounter with Tennessee authorities during which he rammed several police cars, several sources have confirmed. 

Edward Ahrens was suspected of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl who was the subject of a Tennessee Endangered Child Alert, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The missing child was identified as Aubriauna Mays. 

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