U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) told The Tennessee Star that today’s media needs more reporters like Matthew Giffin.
Giffin resigned his position as editor-in-chief of Sidelines, Middle Tennessee State University’s student digital newspaper, after he said the publication’s editorial board caved into pressure by anti-Israel students who opposed his story profiling a MTSU student concerned about his friends in Tel Aviv.
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In the three pages released last week from Covenant Killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto and related writings, the hand-written notes were filled with racial and anti-LGBT slurs. Hale expressed at great length her hatred for white people, and in particular, her animus for the white children at the private Christian elementary school.
However, officials at the FBI won’t say whether or not they are handling the investigation of the March 27 school shootings as a hate crime.
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In an in-depth interview on Friday, WTN SuperTalk 99.7 afternoon host Matt Murphy spoke with Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton about the shooting and death of Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig. The Tennessee Star conducted a FACT CHECK of Speaker Sexton’s claim in that interview that Shaquille Taylor, the alleged killer of 18-year-old Belmont University Jillian Ludwig, who was shot in the head on Tuesday and died on Thursday, would have been in custody if the Tennessee State Senate had passed legislation in the August Special Session that the House had passed. The Star determined that Sexton’s claim is FALSE. The transcript of that interview and the corresponding FACT CHECKS conducted by The Star can be seen below. ——————- Matt Murphy: So, obviously, we’ve been covering this very difficult story involving the passing of a Belmont University student by the name of Lillian, or Jillian, pardon me, Jillian Ludwig, who died Thursday, yesterday morning after being shot in the head while walking near campus Tuesday. EDITOR’S NOTE: Prior to allegedly shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Taylor in the head on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Shaquille Taylor was deemed incompetent to stand trial for aggravated assault with a deadly…
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The Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) held another “All Out For Palestine Peace Rally” on Saturday at Centennial Park in Nashville.
The rally drew a combined crowd of more than 1,000 as protesters marched along the West End and eventually gathered at the steps of the Parthenon.
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Metro Nashville’s top attorney released an urgent statement Thursday evening claiming the Covenant School Killer’s manifesto are under court seal and can’t be released.
Not true, say attorneys for plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking to make the records public.
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Shaquille Taylor, 29, the alleged killer of Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig, who died on Thursday after being shot in the head while walking near campus on Tuesday, was released from Metro Nashville Davidson County Jail on September 23, after bonding out subsequent to his arrest on September 21 on felony auto theft charges.
A $10,000 bond was set by a Davidson County General Sessions Court judge when he was arraigned on those charges, and the company who posted the bond, Brooke’s Bail Bonding, told The Tennessee Star it was doubled when Taylor missed court on November 3. A clerk at the Davidson County Criminal Court told The Star on Thursday that records show Brooke’s Bail Bonding paid $10,000 to the court. Brooke’s Bail Bonding owner Brooke Harlan said her company was attempting to secure a new court date for Taylor at the time of his latest arrest.
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More than seven months after Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s murderous rampage at Nashville’s Covenant Presbyterian School, Governor Bill Lee says he remains “frustrated” by the lack of transparency from law enforcement officials.
But what has the governor actually done to help transparency along?
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Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed on Wednesday that seven of its officers have been placed on administrative assignment following the leak of at least three pages of Covenant killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto to conservative commentator and comedian Steven Crowder, who published them Monday.
Crowder initially reported the seven officers were placed on leave in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “The powers that be are more concerned about finding the leaker than they are about the contents of Audrey Hale’s anti-white manifesto,” wrote Crowder.
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The Sycamore Institute revealed in a presentation to lawmakers on Monday that the state has enough tax revenue to fund education without federal assistance. Their report comes as Tennessee considers rejecting federal assistance to increase local control over education.
Sycamore Institute Deputy Director Mandy Spears told the legislators that while Tennessee’s “days of historically large surpluses may be over,” the state “still has room in its budget to replace federal funding” for education “at the expense of other investments,” according to WJHL-TV.
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Chief John Drake of the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) released a statement on Monday that confirmed “three pages of writings from the Covenant shooter,” Audrey Hale, were leaked to the public, and pledged to “identify the person responsible.”
In a statement posted to the Nashville government website, Drake said he was disturbed by the “unauthorized release” of pages written by Hale, and said his department is “extremely serious about the investigation” to determine the culprit. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell ordered an investigation into the release of the pages on Monday afternoon.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) acknowledged the leaked documents purported to be part of the manifesto written by Audrey Elizabeth Hale on Monday. Hale, who reportedly identified as a transgender male, fatally shot six at The Covenant School in 2022.
MNPD did not confirm nor deny the authenticity of the images in the statement, but acknowledged the department “is in communication” with the Metro Legal about the ongoing investigation “into the dissemination of three photographs of writings” shown by conservative comedian and pundit Steven Crowder on Monday morning. The department confirmed the “photographs are not MNPD crime scene images.”
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Sources in the Tennessee General Assembly who were allowed to view the Covenant Killer Manifesto by the Metro Nashville Police Department have confirmed to The Tennessee Star that the documents released by Steven Crowder on Monday morning, which he purports to be part of Covenant killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto, are indeed part of the documents obtained by MNPD during their investigation, and were authentically written by Hale.
The independent confirmation of the manifesto comes after MNPD said it “has no idea” what the documents. The Star contacted MNPD again to confirm the documents are Hale’s original writings, but a spokesperson for the department said she did not know whether the documents were authentic.
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A spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) told The Tennessee Star they have “no idea” about the document obtained by Steven Crowder and released on Monday, which he purports to be the actual manifesto of Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale.
They did not specifically address the authenticity of the purported document.
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The alleged first page of The Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s now-infamous manifesto, which has been hidden from the public since the mass killing in March, was leaked to the public Monday.
Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder said early Monday morning that he would release the document on his daily show, “Louder With Crowder” at 10 a.m. The contents of the partial manifesto surfaced online shortly before the show aired.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) released a statement exclusively to The Tennessee Star this week after Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake has failed to respond to the congressman’s April 26 letter in regards to the Covenant School shooting.
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Another pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas, anti-Israel rally organized by the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) took place at Centennial Park in downtown Nashville on Saturday.
The rally marked the fourth straight weekend of pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas, anti-Israel demonstrations in Nashville amid the terrorist group Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that left over 1,400 Israelis and 32 Americans dead. Middle Tennessee DSA has organized each rally.
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Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is backing a Republican bill to prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding research that facilitates “gender-affirming care” for minor children. The bill was written after two transgender children took their own lives in one federally funded study.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Researchers Who Prey on Children Act would prohibit any individual or group that previously engaged in a study facilitating “gender-affirming care” for minors from receiving federal funding. Representative Josh Breechen (R-OK-02) introduced this bill on Thursday.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is appealing to the Supreme Court after a lower court ruling upheld Tennessee’s ban on child sex change surgeries.
According to the ACLU’s Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, which asks the nation’s highest court to review the case, there are two questions of law.
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Desmond Mills Jr., one of five former Memphis police officers charged in the January beating death of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop, has pleaded guilty to two of four criminal charges in the nationally watched federal civil rights case, and several charges in a state case.
Mills appeared Thursday morning before Judge Mark Norris in the Western District of Tennessee.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) has 30 days to appeal the Tuesday decision from a three-judge panel that ruled the legislature violated the state constitution with its new law governing the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.
Metro Nashville filed the lawsuit after the Tennessee Legislature passed a law changing how the board’s members are selected, with the new law allowing the mayor, governor, and House and Senate speakers to each select two appointees. Tuesday’s ruling invalidated this law, and restored the board’s previous members who were all appointed by Nashville’s mayor and approved by the Metro Nashville council, effective immediately.
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Former Metro Nashville Mayor Megan Barry confirmed on Wednesday night that she is “exploring” a campaign to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. House, which could see her challenge Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) in 2024.
Barry said she is considering launching a campaign in a statement to News Channel 5, in which she revealed she will “decide in the coming weeks.” Justifying a potential run, Barry claimed Green “deserves to be challenged” because of his pro-life positions on healthcare and support for the Second Amendment.
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The Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) announced it will hold another pro-Palestine rally this upcoming weekend at Centennial Park in Nashville.
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A described “radical centrist” party that is seeking ballot access in Tennessee will not run candidates lower than the presidential level if granted that access.
“We are pleased to potentially have No Labels on the ballot in Tennessee for the 2024 presidential election,” Ryan Clancy, chief strategist at No Labels, told The Tennessee Star. “We will not offer our ballot line to candidates for any office other than the presidency. We’re just creating an opening for an independent Unity presidential ticket if that’s what the people of America — and Tennessee — want and need.”
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Metro Nashville Council Member-At-Large Zulfat Suara has refused to condemn the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis, but claims that “standing up for innocent Palestinian children doesn’t make one antisemitic.”
Suara, the co-founder and former leader of the Nashville-based American Muslim Advisory Council, was first elected as one of the five at-large members of the 40 member Metro Nashville Council in 2019. She was re-elected to another four year term in August of this year.
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Progressive Democrat activist-turned-State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) called for a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in an early Saturday post on X – formerly Twitter.
On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists left their base in Gaza and launched a barbaric surprise attack inside Israel, where they killed more than 1,400 Israeli citizens, the vast majority of whom were civilians.
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A rally for Jewish and Christian communities to “come together in unity to stand with Israel” took place at Legislative Plaza in Nashville on Friday following two straight weeks of pro-Palestine rallies.
The rally, which featured special guest speakers, including state representatives, state senators, pastors, rabbis, music artists, and community leaders, was held from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
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After the Biden Administration bypassed the state of Tennessee completely and decided to give the state’s Title X funding directly to Planned Parenthood in September, Tennessee’s attorney general is taking action.
“We are suing to stop the federal government from playing politics with the health of Tennessee women,” Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Our lawsuit is necessary to ensure that Tennessee can continue its 50-year track record of successfully providing these public health services to its neediest populations.”
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on X, formerly Twitter, that it is suing the State of Tennessee over a law meant to prevent people from knowingly spreading HIV.
“BREAKING: We’re suing Tennessee for their ‘aggravated prostitution’ statute that targets people with HIV with harsh punishment and lifetime sex offender registration. This law is unconstitutional and disproportionately affects Black and transgender women,” the group said Tuesday afternoon. “The law elevates engaging in sex work from a misdemeanor to a felony based on someone’s HIV status – a protected disability.”
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The GOP-led House voted Wednesday to elect Rep. Mike Johnson speaker after 3 weeks without a chamber leader, according to the final vote tally.
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Tennessee’s Attorney General is leading a bipartisan coalition of 42 states in suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that Instagram causes mental health harms to its young users.
“Meta has known for years that Instagram causes psychological harm to young users,” said General Skrmetti in a Tuesday press release. “Rather than take steps to reduce or disclose the harm, Meta leaned further in to its profit-maximizing approach that hurts kids. Targeting kids with a harmful product and lying about its safety violates the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Meta knows every last design decision that made Instagram addictive to kids and that means it knows exactly how to fix the problem. We’re suing to make the company fix the problem.”
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Franklin Mayor Dr. Ken Moore won re-election Tuesday night against Gabrielle Hanson by a landslide margin, according to unofficial election results by the Williamson County Election Commission.
With all eight voting centers reporting shortly after 8:00 p.m., a total of 12,822 votes were counted for Moore, while just 3,322 votes were counted for Hanson. Only 65 voters voted for a different candidate.
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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has dropped out of the race to become the Speaker of the House, doing so within hours of the Republican conference backing him for the post.
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Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Republicans against picking Minnesota GOP Rep. Tom Emmer to become the next Speaker of the House.
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Minnesota GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, won his party’s nomination for House speaker on Tuesday after five rounds of secret ballot voting.
His nomination now moves to the House floor where it needs at least 217 votes to pass. It’s unclear when the vote will be held.
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Contrary to the false narrative, the groups behind the All Out for Palestine rallies in Nashville and across the country are not the work of mere grassroots, peace-seeking activists.
The “social justice” demonstrations are being led by well-funded, anti-Jewish organizations, many with ties to Palestinian terrorist groups that want to carry out the extinction of Israel.
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A microbiologist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, known as WokeScientist on her Instagram account, took to her social media page to defend Hamas for the terrorist network’s barbaric attack on Israelis.
Dr. Ayesha Khan, a VUMC resident and clinical fellow in microbiology in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, insists on her Instagram page that “a ceasefire is not enough.”
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A Knoxville man was convicted for attempting to provide material support to ISIS, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
“On Oct. 19, following an eight-day trial, a jury convicted Benjamin Carpenter, 31, of Knoxville, Tennessee, aka Abu Hamza, of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a foreign terrorist organization,” the release says.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced Friday he would not seek to be the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Congressional investigators on Friday revealed the first evidence Joe Biden directly benefited from his family’s business dealings, releasing records showing the president got a $200,000 check in 2018 from his brother on the same day that James Biden got the same amount of money wired from a failing health care firm.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan lost the third ballot in the House speaker on Friday with more Republicans voting against him than the previous two rounds.
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U.S. House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday afternoon that he would in fact keep running for speaker and hold another floor vote, despite reports that he was considering postponing his effort.
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GOP Rep. Jim Jordan decided Thursday to not move forward with his bid to become the next House speaker and instead supported a proposal to elevate fellow Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry from his post as speaker pro tem to unelected speaker for a temporary period of time.
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A member of the U.S. House of Representatives said Wednesday that Washington lobbyists are to blame for holding up the election of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) as Speaker of the House.
“Since the lobbyist (K STREET) are coming out full force AGAINST [Jordan] I know I made the right decision voting for him,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) said Wednesday morning on Twitter/X.
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Supporters of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas occupied Capitol Hill on Wednesday demanding an end to the ongoing conflict and urging the government against escalating the hostilities.
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As the legal battle over the release of Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto rages on, The Covenant School, where Hale took six lives in March, is preparing to reopen.
According to WKRN, students will return in January, less than one year after the deadly shooting.
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GOP Rep. Jim Jordan came up short in the first ballot of voting for House speaker Tuesday on the floor.
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At this year’s annual charter school appeals hearing, the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission (TPCSC) heard from eight proposed charter schools. State law permits charter authorizers who have been denied by the local authorizer to ask for reconsideration.
Established in 2022, as a means for those appeals to be heard, the commission has the power to overturn local decisions.
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Several hundred members of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Democrat Socialists of America and other leftist groups rallied in Nashville on Saturday to support the terrorist group Hamas and oppose Israel’s actions to defend itself. The rally took place one week after more than 1,200 Israelis were massacred by Hamas terrorists, who launched a sneak attack into Israel from the Gaza strip on October 7.
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Governor Bill Lee recently announced he authorized the deployment of another unit of Tennessee National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
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House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced a full committee hearing to “examine threats posed by the Iranian regime to U.S. homeland security” will be held on Wednesday, October 18.
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