Category: TN LEAD

Accused Cyberstalker Who Visited Nashville School Requests Hearing to Determine Steps After Commitment

Tom Pappert
McKenzie McClure

Court documents obtained by The Tennessee Star reveal accused cyberstalker McKenzie McClure has requested a status hearing to set a court date which will determine her next steps following the end of her commitment at an East Tennessee psychiatric facility.

Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against McClure in April, accusing her cyberstalking. Video recorded around this time revealed she visited the campus of the Christ Presbyterian Academy, where she attended elementary school decades ago, and was accused of leaving a disturbing voice mail.

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Kamala Harris Candidacy Could Boost Nashville Transit Referendum, Suggests Former Jim Cooper Staffer

Tom Pappert
Kamala Harris Nashville

The decision by President Joe Biden to step down in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris could help Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell pass his WeGo Transportation Referendum in November, according to the longtime chief of staff to former Representative Jim Cooper prior to his retirement in 2022.

Lisa Quigley claimed the key to electoral success for Democrats and their issues in Nashville depends on activating key voting blocs in a statement to Axios, stressing that “younger” and black voters are vital.

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Embattled Shelby County District Attorney’s Office Confirms Sending Current, Former Employee Records in Mass Email

Tom Pappert
Steve Mulroy

The office of embattled Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy on Wednesday confirmed to media outlets it accidentally sent the employee records of nearly 300 current and former staff members, including social security numbers, in a mass email to employees.

A statement released by Mulroy’s office to media outlets confirmed the leak of the information, which Fox 13 Memphis reported came in the form of a spreadsheet that “contained the personal information of almost 300 current and former employees dating back to 2014.”

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Security Resource Officers Reported Called to Step Back from Memphis Shelby County Schools over Public Safety, Pay

Tom Pappert

The company which provides Security Resources Officers (SROs) to Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) has reportedly warned it will step back from its duties unless Shelby County changes its overtime policies, with the company’s owner claiming in a letter that SROs in the school district have already been told not to provide security for upcoming football events.

Bennie Cobb, who owns the Eagle Eye Security and Training company which provides SROs for the district, reportedly sent a letter to the MSCS Safety and Security division which warned its 128 SROs were told “[n]ot to report for duty on Friday, August 16, 2014 – and not to participate in the [football] jamboree that following night and following day.”

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Piedmont Lithium Abandons Nearly $600 Million Investment Planned for Southeast Tennessee

Kaitlin Housler
Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium announced Thursday that the company abandoned its plan to invest $582 million to establish a lithium hydroxide processing, refining, and manufacturing facility in Etowah and instead build the proposed plant in North Carolina.

The company currently operates a plant in Gaston County, North Carolina, called Carolina Lithium, which will be expanded with the addition of the facility originally expected to be built in Etowah.

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U.S. Attorney Who Oversaw FBI Search Warrant Served on Rep. Andy Ogles Previously Served Under Jack Smith

Tom Pappert
Henry Leventis, Jack Smith

Henry Leventis, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee who oversaw the FBI search warrant served on Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) last Friday, previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney under special prosecutor Jack Smith.

Leventis supervised the FBI search warrant executed at Ogles’ Maury County home. In a statement, Ogles said the warrant was issued to obtain his personal cell phone due to well-reported issues with his initial campaign filings. Ogles filed amendments earlier this year that he claims corrected what were honest mistakes.

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KamaLawfare: Politicized FBI Executes Search Warrant on GOP Rep. Andy Ogles, Who Leads Impeachment of VP Harris

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles and FBI

The Tennessee Star learned the controversial and allegedly politicized FBI on Friday executed a search warrant at the Maury County, Tennessee, home of Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).

Ogles confirmed in a statement provided to The Star that the FBI executed a search warrant for his personal cell phone in an apparent investigation of his campaign filings.

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Nashville Police Replace Internal Affairs Director Months After Retired Officer’s Complaint Sparked Investigation

Tom Pappert
Kathy Morante, Nashville City Hall

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Monday reportedly replaced the head of its internal affairs office in a decision that came months after retired Lieutenant Garet Davidson submitted a 61-page complaint naming the former official, prompting an investigation.

It was reported on Monday by Nashville Banner that Kathy Morante, the head of the MNPD Office of Professional Accountability since 2013, was replaced.

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Never Trumpers Lose Big in Tennessee GOP Primary

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles and Courtney Johnston

The Never Trump donors who assembled to oppose Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Thursday Republican primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district were trounced by the incumbent, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump more than one year prior to the election.

Ogles’ victory came despite the incumbent being out raised by his opponent, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, who also benefited from more than $600,000 in advertising from the Conservatives with Character super PAC, whose treasurer told The Tennessee Star its primary purpose was to see the Trump-endorsed incumbent defeated.

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Star News Network, Michael Patrick Leahy Launch Appeal After Nashville Judge Blocks Covenant School Killer’s Journal from Public

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale and I'Ashea Myles

Star News Digital Media, Inc. (SNDM), which owns and operates The Tennessee Star, and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy launched an appeal on Wednesday to reverse Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles’s ruling blocking the release of even one page of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale.

Lawyers for SNDM, including America First Legal Foundation attorney Nicholas Barry and attorney Paul Krog, officially filed notice with the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville that it intends to appeal, making SNDM and Leahy the first plaintiffs to appeal Myles’ July 4 ruling.

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State Sen. Brent Taylor Responds to ‘Misinformation’ Claims over Push to Oust D.A. Steve Mulroy, Publishes Full Transcript of Interview

Tom Pappert
Steve Mulroy and Brent Taylor

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Wednesday published his public response to the MLK50 article, which accused him of using misinformation about Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Memphis crime in his effort to oust the district attorney from office.

In addition to rebutting or providing context to the five alleged points of misinformation MLK50 reporter Katherine Burgess included in the publication’s report, Taylor also provided the full transcript of the email interview he completed at Burgess’ request.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Labeled Trump a ‘Threat to Democracy,’ Joked About Securing Area During Bitcoin Conference

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell and Donald Trump

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell condemned former President Donald Trump on Saturday as a “threat to democracy,” then humorously asserted the Bitcoin 2024 conference, where the former president spoke, was “secured” and the “threat” gone.

O’Connell made the remarks at the annual Three Star Fundraiser held by the Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP), which the party titled, “For Our Democracy, For Our Freedom.”

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Davidson County Chancery Court Rules Law Shrinking Size of Metro Nashville Council Is Unconstitutional

Kaitlin Housler
Metropolitan Council Office

he Davidson County Chancery Court ruled 2-1 on Monday that Tennessee’s law capping the number of elected officials in the Metro Nashville-Davidson County City Council to 20 is unconstitutional.

Governor Bill Lee signed SB87/HB48 into law on March 9, 2023, which requires that the governing body of a municipality or Metropolitan government must “dissolve, combine, or reapportion districts or wards, as necessary, so that the number of members elected to the governing body does not exceed 20 voting members.”

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Super PAC Behind Controversial Pro-Johnston Mailers Purchases $256,000 Ad Buy Ahead of TN-5 Primary

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles and Courtney Johnston

The Conservatives with Character super PAC supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in her campaign to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Republican primary on August 1 on Wednesday spent more than $256,000 in advertisement in the final days before the election.

A reported filed with the Federal Election Commission by Conservatives with Character treasurer Randy Stamps confirmed the organization spent $200,000 with the New Mexico-based Ad Placement Results LLC, an additional $30,000 to the Nashville-based VOR Media advertising firm, and $26,820 with HTTV Direct LLC, a Virginia-based political mailing firm.

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Tennessee State Employee Jim Tracy Backs Left Wing PAC That Supports Courtney Johnston in TN-5 Primary Against Rep. Andy Ogles

Tom Pappert
Jim Tracy

Jim Tracy, who is employed as a senior advisor to the Department of Commerce and Insurance, is a board member of the political organization that recently sent $140,000 to a super PAC attacking Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District scheduled for August 1.

Tracy was named as a board member of The Best of Tennessee in a June 6 article by Tennessee Lookout, which reported he was then, “a Senior Advisor to the Department of Commerce and Insurance.”

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Never Trumper Tom Ingram Helped Start Group That Sent $140,000 to Super PAC Behind Pro-Johnston, Anti-Ogles Ads

Tom Pappert
Tom Ingram

Never Trumper political consultant and lobbyist Tom Ingram is one of the founders of The Best of Tennessee, which last month sent $140,000 to the Conservatives with Character super PAC that recently began a $140,000 ad campaign supporting Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston in her effort to unseat Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) in the Tennessee Republican primary on August 1.

Ingram was listed as one of three founders of The Best of Tennessee in April by Tennessee Lookout, which reported the group’s founders also include pro-abortion attorney Chloe Akers and seasoned political fundraiser Kim Kaegi, who is also the treasurer for the Johnston campaign.

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Treasurer for Super PAC Behind Mailers Featuring Johnston, Trump Warns Former President Could ‘Dominate’ GOP with Help of Rep. Ogles

Tom Pappert
Randy Stamps and Courtney Johnston

Randy Stamps, who is the treasurer for the Conservatives with Character super PAC which sent mailers juxtaposing images of Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston and former President Donald Trump, told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday he is among the Republicans who do not want the former president to “dominate” the Republican Party.

Stamps also confirmed Conservatives with Character sent the mailers as part of the $140,000 advertising campaign reported last month, and said it is part of the same advertising campaign that followed a $140,000 cash injection from The Best of Tennessee, whose co-founder is Kim Kaegi, a seasoned political fundraiser who also serves as Johnston’s campaign treasurer.

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Rep. Andy Ogles Calls Pro-Courtney Johnston Mailers Featuring President Trump ‘Disgraceful and Despicable’

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles and Courtney Johnston in front on misleading Johnston mailer (composite image)

Despite Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) already securing the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, political advertisements mailed to voters depict his only Republican challenger, Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, alongside Republican presidential nominee.

The mailers do not appear to be sent by Johnston’s campaign, but are attributed to Conservatives with Character, the super PAC that recently began an advertising campaign against Ogles, and were obtained by The Tennessee Star from a recipient within the district.

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Authorities Rescue Three Children in Tennessee, Arrest Foreign National Wanted for ‘Child Stealing’ in Bahamas

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) of Washington announced on Friday the rescue of three children and the arrest of a foreign national in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

INTERPOL Washington confirmed in a press release that the agency participated in a joint operation with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 5 to arrest Angelo McQueen, a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas who the intergovernmental agency explained was wanted “for sexual offenses against a minor.”

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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Nashville Man Accused of Shooting 18-Year-Old at WeGo Bus Station

Kaitlin Housler
Kenneth Johnson

A federal grand jury indicted a Nashville man accused of shooting an 18-year-old six times on the steps of a WeGo bus station in May, according to the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Kenneth Johnson, 31, was arrested by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers on May 16 after he allegedly shot the 18-year-old six times at the WeGo bus station located at the intersection of Rep John Lewis Way & MLK Jr Blvd.

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Sen. Blackburn Confronts Stonewalling Secret Service Director at the RNC over Trump Assassination Attempt Coverup

Tom Pappert

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and John Barrasso (R-WY) on Wednesday confronted U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on the floor of the Republican National Convention (RNC) over the Secret Service actions that preceded the Saturday assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

The Tennessee Star confirmed the confrontation happened at the Fiserv Forum in Mulwaukee, Wisconsin where the RNC is being held. Blackburn and Barrasso confronted Cheatle upstairs in a luxury suite just prior to 9 p.m., just minutes before Blackburn uploaded video to the social media platform X with the caption, “[t]he American people deserve answers from the Secret Service.”

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Middle Tennessee State University Earns ‘Green Light’ FIRE Rating for Respecting Free Speech

Tom Pappert

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) last week earned a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Freedom (FIRE), a nonprofit organization that gained fame by defending freedom of speech on college campuses.

A FIRE press release confirms MTSU became the latest university to receive the rating, with the organization noting just 68 other institutions throughout the country have qualified for the “green light” rating it explains” is reserved for institutions with no written policies that seriously imperil student free speech rights.”

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One Attendee and Shooter Dead, Trump Fine After Assassination Attempt at Pennsylvania Rally

Tom Pappert
Trump Bleeding from Ear at Rally

Former President Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, reportedly suffering only a grazing wound to his ear after apparent gunshots interrupted his campaign rally.

The violence claimed the life of one rally attendee, and the shooter was confirmed dead at the scene, according to The Associated Press, which obtained the information from Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger. A second attendee at the rally is reported to be in serious condition, according to The Washington Post reporter Meryl Kornfield.

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Covenant Killer’s Father Confirmed Vanderbilt University Medical Center ‘Didn’t Tell Us’ About Daughter’s Interest in Columbine

Tom Pappert
Audrey Hale

Ronald Hale, the father of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, confirmed to investigators that Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) did not inform his daughter developed an interest in the April 20, 1999 shooting at the Columbine High School in Colorado, according to a transcript of a July 12, 2023 police interview obtained by The Tennessee Star. 

Police documents obtained by The Star previously established that Audrey Hale was a 22-year mental health patient at VUMC, and Ronald and Norma Hale confirmed their daughter was evaluated for commitment for mental health reasons during three separate incidents, including two at VUMC for suicidal ideation.

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Attorneys for Parents of Covenant Killer Silent on Possible Will with Potential Instructions for Release of Documents

Tom Pappert
Jeff Mobley and David Raybin

Attorneys who represent Ronald Hale and Norma Hale, the parents of Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, did not respond to The Tennessee Star when asked about the killer’s suicide note and a probate court filing, which both appear to suggest the killer left a last will and testament prior to her devastating attack on March 27, 2023.

Neither attorney David Raybin, who represented Ronald Hale and Norma Hale in matters related to the Covenant investigation, nor attorney Jeff Mobley, who represents the killer’s parents in the intestate probate case for Audrey Hale’s estate, replied to a press inquiry from The Star which sought to establish whether the killer left behind a document called a will.

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Group Claiming Copyright to Covenant Killer Documents ‘Not Able to Comment’ on Possible Financial Arrangement with Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Tom Pappert
Ed Yarbrough

An attorney who represents The Covenant Children’s Trust, which claims it owns the copyright to the works of Covenant School attacker Audrey Elizabeth Hale, told The Tennessee Star on Wednesday he could not comment on whether his client received any type of financial compensation from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), which treated the killer over 22 years.

The Star contacted attorney Ed Yarbrough, who works at the Spencer Fane firm and represented the Covenant Children’s Trust in the Tennessee lawsuit which sought to compel Metro Nashville to release Hale’s documents, to ask whether his client, the Covenant School, or Covenant Presbyterian Church were approached by VUMC to discuss its potential civil liability over its treatment of Hale.

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Illegal Alien Who Killed Tennessee Man While Drunk Driving Sentenced to Only Two Years in Prison

Peter D'Abrosca
Israel Martin-Alonzo

An illegal alien from Guatemala who killed a Tennessee man while drunk driving has been sentenced to prison for causing the man’s death.

Israel Martin-Alonzo who was 18 at the time and was driving drunk, struck and killed Hixson man Donald Rackley on July 30, 2018. He was sentenced Tuesday to only two years in prison after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, failure to maintain lane, and DUI.

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Nashville Police Point to Judge I’Ashea Myles When Questioned over Will Mentioned by Covenant Killer Audrey Hale in Suicide Note

Tom Pappert

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) referred The Tennessee Star to the court of Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles when asked if the department provided specific documents to Judge Myles before she declared in her decision that not one page of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale will be released, citing the copyright allegedly held by the parents of Covenant School children.

The Star asked MNPD Public Affairs director Don Aaron whether investigators provided Judge Myles with the document titled “Vandy Psych.” The document contains notes written by an MNPD investigator who received at least 75 pages of documents from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), where Hale was a 22-year mental health patient, after obtaining a search warrant in the wake of her March 27, 2023 attack that claimed the lives of six.

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Covenant Killer’s Parents Claimed She Left No Will, but Suicide Note Audrey Hale Wrote Demands ‘PLEASE READ MY WILL’

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles last Thursday ruled that not one page of the materials written by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale will be released to the public, citing the copyright claims raised by parents of minor students who claim to own the copyright to the killer’s works.

The parents of Covenant School students successfully claimed before Myles that they were assigned the intellectual property rights of the materials left by Audrey Hale before to her attack, and a probate court filing reveals Ronald and Norma Hale appear to have transferred the copyright to the parents of in June 2023.

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Tennessee Courts Will Look to Put Filings Online

The Center Square

Tennessee’s Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure decided to start a committee looking into rules to make court briefs available online moving forward.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater will chair the committee, which will include commission Chairman Gino Bulso, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Tom Greenholtz, former Solicitor General Andree Blumstein and attorney Tim Mickel.

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Tennessee Judge Rules Not One Page of Covenant Killer Writings Shall be Released, Cites Dubious Copyright Claims of Intervenors

Tom Pappert

Tennessee Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ruled in a decision released at 11:58 pm on Thursday that none of the writings left by Covenant School killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale shall be released to the multiple parties who sued Metro Nashville to secure their release, citing the copyright claims of the parents she earlier allowed to intervene in the lawsuit.

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