A Tennessee court has overturned a judge’s decision to block the release of writings by the transgender-identifying woman who killed three children and three adults during an attack on a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OpinionsPDFVersion/Majority%20Opinion%20-%20%20M2024-01139-COA-R3-CV.pdf">said</a> Wednesday that the city of Nashville must allow inspection of the writings of The Covenant School attacker under public record laws. In August 2024, Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservative-publisher-appeals-decision-to-block-release-of-covenant-attackers-writings?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Conservative+Publisher+Appeals+Decision+To+Block+Release+Of+Covenant+Attacker%E2%80%99s+Writings">ruled</a> that copyright claims put on the writings preempted public records requests.
“Construing the [Tennessee Public Records Act] broadly to promote access to public records, as we are required, we conclude that under these particular circumstances, the only overt action Metro must take to meet its obligation is to allow Petitioners access to the records for personal inspection,” the judges wrote. “Simply put, so long as Metro maintains the records, it must allow Petitioners access … for personal inspection.”
The writings of the shooter include journal entries made in the months leading up to the March 27, 2023, attack. After the attack, the Nashville Police Department refused to release the writings, citing an ongoing investigation. A group of parents whose children attended The Covenant School also intervened to block the release of the writings, citing a copyright claim to the materials granted by the attacker’s parents.
The parents and the school also said that releasing the attacker’s writings would cause school safety concerns, a position that Myles agreed with in her ruling.
“This conclusion strains credulity, and we are neither willing nor able to make the blind logical leap the Covenant Intervenors ask of us,” the appeals court said, noting that many of the writings were made years before the attack.
The judges also said that there was no school shooter manifesto exemption to public records law because of fears about the writings inspiring future attacks.
“Respectfully, this argument is rooted in speculation about potential future events, not facts present in the record before us. This is a policy debate not contemplated by, or anywhere mentioned in” public records law, the judges said.
The parties who sued for access to the writings included Tennessee Star publisher Michael Patrick Leahy, the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, and the National Police Association. Leahy was represented by the America First Legal Foundation.
“This unanimous ruling by the Tennessee Court of Appeals is a major victory for freedom of the press, the people of the State of Tennessee, and The Tennessee Star,” Leahy <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/covenant-school-shooting/court-of-appeals-gives-the-tennessee-star-major-victory-in-covenant-manifesto-case/tpappert/2026/02/04/">said</a> of the ruling. “It is in the public interest for all of these documents to be released to us expeditiously, as the Court of Appeals ruled.”
Despite these efforts, portions of the shooter’s writings have already been released through the FBI and through media reports, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis?author=Brent+Scher&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=COVENANT+JOURNAL+REVEALED%3A+Shooter+Said+Being+Female+Was+A+‘F***ing+Curse%2C’+That+She’d+‘Kill’+To+Have+Had+Puberty+Blockers">including</a> The Daily Wire. Ramblings of the shooter posted by the FBI in December 2025 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-covenant-school-killer-hated-religion-and-white-people-fbi-files-reveal?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Covenant+School+Killer+Hated+‘Religion’+And+‘White+People%2C’+FBI+Files+Reveal">revealed</a> that she hated white people and religion.

3 children, 3 teachers fatally shot in US city of Nashville school shooting

Court Says Nashville Cannot Block Access To Covenant Shooter’s Writings

Courts

Nashville

School Shooting

Tennessee

The Covenant School

Transgender

U.S.

The 28-year-old transgender-identifying woman who murdered six people at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023 hated white people and religion, portions of her newly released writings reveal. 
The FBI <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/nashville-covenant-school-shooting/nashville-covenant-school-shooting-part-06/view">posted</a> more of the disturbing ramblings of The Covenant School attacker on December 22, including notes that suggest she purchased the weapon used in the killings using federal financial aid. The writings were published after a judge ordered the agency to release documents related to the attack. 
The latest release includes 230 pages of the shooter’s notes and plans leading up to the mass murder. On March 27, 2023, she entered the school and killed three young children and three adults before she was fatally shot by Nashville police officers. 
Among the pages published by the FBI, the attacker listed “advantages” of targeting The Covenant School, where she had attended for a few years. She noted that the school was a “predominantly white school (white pple I hate)” and that it was a “Christian school (hate religion).”
The writings also reveal that the attacker considered targeting a middle school in the Nashville area, but leaned against it because a higher percentage of black students were enrolled there. 
The shooter wrote that school would be in line with her goals because a “massacre” there would be “more notorious/prolific.” Still, she said the “disadvantages” were that it was a “predominantly black school (black people I love),” adding that it would put “black people in dispair + suffering (I don’t want to cause that).” 
Also in the writings, included references that she appeared to use student loan money to purchase the gun used in the attack. In a section of the writings labeled “Account Savings Record,” she listed off various sources of income, including “FASFA [sic] grant checks started at $2,050.86,” followed by entries like “$2,656.87 (x3 checks from Nossi)” and “+$530.00 (x1 check Nossi) ($3,186.87).”
The shooter appeared to be referencing checks from her time at Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville and from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Those entries followed a list of gun and ammo expenses. The attacker’s parents previously told investigators that she bought the firearm she used in the massacre with Pell Grant funds. 
Most of the newly released pages focus on different types of guns, ammunition, and local gun stores and ranges. Receipts included indicate that just months before the attack, she took several gun classes at the Royal Range in Nashville. She also expounded on “Biden’s horrible gun plans.&#8221; 
The writings also included many references to previous mass shooters and noted the number of victims in each incident. 
The Nashville police department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-in-final-report-downplay-covenant-shooters-transgender-identity-hatred-of-christianity?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Nashville+Police+In+Final+Report+Downplay+Covenant+Shooter’s+Transgender+Identity%2C+Hatred+Of+Christianity">released</a> its final report on the attack in April and downplayed the shooter&#8217;s transgender identity and documented animus toward Christianity, white people, and the wealthy. Instead, the department said that she wanted to gain notoriety.
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This final report didn’t appear to fully take into account the attacker’s transgender identity, which dominated her life.
In journal entries previously published by The Daily Wire, she wrote just weeks before the deadly shooting about her fantasy of having an “imaginary penis” and said that it was a “f***ing curse” that she was born a woman.
“I want to know what that’s like, but I never will because I was damned to be born this way,” she wrote in the journal of her desire to have a penis. “I swear to f*** I hate it so goddamned much. It’s a f***ing curse.”

The Covenant School Killer Hated ‘Religion’ And ‘White People,’ FBI Files Reveal

Christianity

Mass Shooting

In October 2023, the online publication Tennbeat published an interview with newly elected Tennessee state representative Aftyn Behn.
The <a href="https://www.tennbeat.com/p/meet-the-aoc-of-tennessee-aftyn-behn">piece</a>, which calls the leftist lawmaker &#8220;the AOC of Tennessee,&#8221; charts Behn&#8217;s rise from University of Texas psychology student to &#8220;progressive community organizer.&#8221; Behn told Tennbeat that &#8220;during her senior year at the University of Texas, she interned at the Arc of Texas, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of persons with disabilities.&#8221;
The piece notes that Behn &#8220;developed talking points on disability policies for the state legislature&#8221; during that internship, giving her an early taste of political life that led her to spend the summer after graduation <a href="https://www.tennbeat.com/p/meet-the-aoc-of-tennessee-aftyn-behn">canvassing</a> for Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). 
Since launching her campaign to replace retired congressman Mark Green, Behn has tried to distance herself from some of the positions she held early in her career. The lawmaker, who faces Republican Matt Van Epps on Tuesday, has sought to position herself as an average Nashville girl. Her record suggests otherwise.
Let&#8217;s start with Nashville, the majority of which lies in the district Behn would represent if she wins.
“I hate the city,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.aftynforcongress.com/">self-described</a> &#8220;pissed off social worker&#8221; said on a 2020 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-city-fumble-dem-candidate-said-she-hates-city-she-wants-to-represent-in-congress">podcast appearance</a>. &#8220;I hate the bachelorette, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it.”
Behn attempted to walk her comments back after the video resurfaced earlier this month, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AftynBehn4TN/videos/no-i-do-not-hate-the-city-i-represent-the-national-gops-new-attack-that-i-hate-n/762714846811103/">posting a video</a> titled &#8220;BREAKING: I DO NOT HATE NASHVILLE LOL.&#8221; It&#8217;s unclear whether Behn&#8217;s attempt to laugh the whole thing off was effective, however, because she was quickly hit with a succession of new scandals.
Behn deleted a social media post calling on all white people to get behind abolishing prisons, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-democrat-aftyn-behn-repeatedly-advocated-for-prison-abolition?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Tennessee+Democrat+Aftyn+Behn+Also+Wants+To+Abolish+Prisons">reported</a> this week.
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“On this Juneteenth, we need less white folks posting Canva graphics and more adopting prison abolition as a political foundation,” Behn wrote just over a year ago, which is now archived on the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240619153246/https:/twitter.com/AftynBehn/status/1803450863240757499" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wayback Machine</a>. Behn also advocated prison abolition in an August 2024 article in <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2024/08/01/candidate-profiles-tennessee-senate-and-house-primary/74623149007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Tennessean</a>, telling the publication, “As a legislator who believes in prison abolition, I am committed to addressing the root causes of crime rather than implementing punitive measures that often perpetuate a cycle of harm.”
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Behn has also faced scrutiny over a 2020 post in which she praised people who support burning down police stations. “Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified,” Behn posted.
Behn declined to address those comments in a recent interview, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-democrat-aftyn-behn-wont-take-back-support-for-burning-down-police-stations?author=Lynden+Blake&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tennessee+Democrat+Aftyn+Behn+Won%E2%80%99t+Take+Back+Support+For+Burning+Down+Police+Stations">saying</a>, “I’m not gonna engage in cable news talking points.”
Crime and policing are not the only areas where Behn has advocated radical views in the past. She claims that <a href="https://x.com/claytravis/status/1993319674352697755?s=42">men can give birth</a> and said that the murder of six children by a transgender-identifying gunman at the Covenant School in Tennessee made her more sympathetic to &#8220;trans communities&#8221; and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-aftyn-behn-said-covenant-shooting-made-her-fearful-for-trans-communities">inspired</a> her to &#8220;fight the far-right narrative that is being emanated by Matt Walsh and The Daily Wire.&#8221;
Those political positions may put Behn out of step with the state she&#8217;s running to represent. But they&#8217;re not shocking coming from a woman who says she got into politics after “immers[ing] herself in Austin’s Black Lives Matter movement&#8221; and who once consulted with the United Nations on a portfolio that included LGBT refugees.
With less than a week left before the special election, Behn may wish her radical past would stay in the past. But the revelations keep coming, often accompanied by video. One clip that resurfaced this week <a href="https://x.com/NicoleMSilverio/status/1993011789400097130?s=20">showed Behn crying</a> after being forcibly removed from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee&#8217;s office during a 2019 protest. And in another clip making the rounds this week, Behn reveals what she dreams about: power.
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 “My therapist always asks me to transcribe my dreams when they happen,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-dem-candidate-aftyn-behn-i-dont-want-children-i-want-power">Behn says in the clip</a>. &#8220;And the recurring dream I’ve had is standing up in a cafeteria full of women — I don’t know why I was there or whatever — and saying, ‘I don’t want children. I want power!’ And just screaming it at the top of my lungs.&#8221;
Update: Dec. 3: 4:00 p.m.: An earlier version of this story noted that Arc of Texas told The Daily Wire “We have no record of an intern with the name Aftyn Behn.&#8221; After this story was published, another Arc of Texas employee reached out to The Daily Wire to say that Behn had in fact interned with the group, and that their comment was based on inaccurate records. Arc of Texas recanted and apologized for its original statement, and we have amended the piece to reflect this new information. The Behn campaign never responded to a request for comment on this story.

Aftyn Behn

Aftyn Behn Keeps Revising Her Resume. We Set The Record Straight.

Defund The Police

In the aftermath of the deadly 2023 shooting at Tennessee&#8217;s Covenant School, in which a transgender-identifying shooter killed six at the Christian school, Democrat Aftyn Behn said that her sympathies were with the transgender community.
Behn, now running to represent the Nashville area in Congress, said the aftermath of the shooting was &#8220;incredibly upsetting&#8221; for her family — because of the anger directed at the &#8220;trans communities.&#8221;
&#8220;So, for those of you who don&#8217;t know, my partner has a trans son, and the month of April and the final week of March was incredibly upsetting for us,&#8221; Behn said in a July 31, 2023, candidate forum, just months after the massacre. “In the wake of the Covenant shooting, and the disclosure that the Covenant shooter was trans, I was pulled into a chat with other trans organizers and activists across the state that were fearful of their lives.&#8221;
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Behn said the shooting inspired her to run for office to fight &#8220;every day&#8221; for &#8220;protections for trans kids and our trans communities.&#8221; She said she was specifically inspired to fight back against The Daily Wire, and specifically Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, because the company is based in Nashville.
&#8220;Every legislative session, I promise to carry a &#8216;trans bill of rights&#8217; so that we can push back against the far-right narrative that is being emanated by Matt Walsh and The Daily Wire, who have set up their home in Nashville,&#8221; Behn said. &#8220;I promise to do that, and I promise to fight for the trans community.&#8221;
WATCH: 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: This is how Democrat Aftyn Behn responded to the Covenant shooting, when a trans-identifying woman killed six at the Christian school.
It inspired Behn’s first run for office…so she could fight to protect “trans communities” and against Daily Wire and <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MattWalshBlog</a>. <a href="https://t.co/th13e1v6dW">pic.twitter.com/th13e1v6dW</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1992975426193326512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Behn, who is running against Republican Matt Van Epps in a special election next Tuesday, has indeed fought for far-left positions since she was elected that year, especially on transgender issues. For example, Behn opposed a parental rights law that would make schools notify parents about their child&#8217;s &#8220;trans identity.&#8221; She called it an attack on &#8220;vulnerable kids&#8221; who are &#8220;just trying to make it out of middle school alive.&#8221;
The Democrat is also on record opposing a law that would protect minors from drag shows. Behn insisted the law &#8220;isn&#8217;t about protecting kids&#8221; but about &#8220;spreading fear and division.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-creating-a-new-terrorism-category-for-transgender-violence-matters">Why Creating A New Terrorism Category For Transgender Violence Matters</a>
Behn and Van Epps are fighting for the congressional seat vacated by House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green earlier this year. Democrats are loading money into the district, in hopes of flipping a reliably Republican district. Her leftist views, many of which she&#8217;s been forced to run away from, are emerging as a serious impediment.
Even on MS NOW, the liberal network formerly known as MSNBC, Behn was called out this weekend for her past policy positions, including that the Nashville police department should be disbanded and that burning down a police station is justified. She declined to back away from either statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Holy crap, the Democrat nominee for Tennessee’s 7th district — parts of Nashville, Franklin &amp; beyond, my congressional district — called for shutting down Nashville’s police department &amp; burning down police stations. Go vote for Matt Van Epps on Monday: <a href="https://t.co/lNaR30e91N">pic.twitter.com/lNaR30e91N</a>
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1992775554785738883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script>
Behn has also taken heat for trashing Nashville, which she supposedly wants to represent in Congress.
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-city-fumble-dem-candidate-said-she-hates-city-she-wants-to-represent-in-congress">said</a> in an unearthed podcast clip posted this past week.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-city-fumble-dem-candidate-said-she-hates-city-she-wants-to-represent-in-congress">Music City Fumble: Dem Candidate Said She Hates City She Wants To Represent In Congress</a>

Aftyn Behn // Covenant School shooting

Democrat Aftyn Behn Said Covenant Shooting Made Her ‘Fearful’ For ‘Trans Communities’

Congress

House GOP

Matt Walsh

The Daily Wire

The FBI needs to take action to protect the American public from this growing threat of violent attacks inspired by transgender ideology, a brief from the Oversight Project says. 
The investigative group <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://static.itsyourgov.org/TIVE_8_Pager.pdf">argues</a> that attacks inspired by transgender ideology should be designated as domestic terrorism so federal law enforcement can more effectively counteract the threats. This designation would allow the FBI to utilize &#8220;sophisticated investigative technique[s]” to prevent future transgender-inspired attacks, the brief says. 
“The United States has seen a recurring pattern of extreme violence committed by perpetrators that appear to have been acting in furtherance of a radical transgender ideology,” the Oversight Project writes. 
“The statements made by the perpetrators and their supporters show that individuals that espouse to this ideology use violence as a means to intimidate Christians and other groups in their exercise of 1st Amendment-protected speech and religious practice, coerce the population into believing there is more than two genders, and silence Americans that do not espouse to their ideology,” they add. 
Recent months have seen at least two major attacks that appear to be tied to transgender ideology, including the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and the August attack on a Minneapolis Catholic school by a transgender-identifying man. In light of these attacks, the Oversight Project said that a new “Domestic Terrorism Threat Category” called Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism (TIVE) should be created. 
The Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism (TIVE) category would apply to those who believe that opposition to transgender ideology is a threat to the right to exist of transgender-identifying individuals, that this fear justifies violence, and that violent action should be taken or promoted based on this belief. 
The designation would allow for the deployment of more human resources, undercover operations, and database searches to prevent future transgender-inspired violence. 
“TIVE violence has particularly focused upon Christian institutions and individuals that the TIVEs believe subscribe to paradigms that are in contradiction to and inherently irreconcilable with transgender ideology,” the brief said. 
This category would join others currently used by the FBI, including racial extremism, anti-government extremism, and abortion extremism. 
Over the past few years, transgender-identifying shooters have attacked two Christian schools, leaving behind writings demonstrating their hatred of Christianity. In March 2023, a transgender-identifying woman attacked the Covenant School in Nashville, murdering three students and three adults. Last month, a transgender-identifying man attacked the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, leaving two children dead and many more injured.
Kirk’s assassination also appears to have been motivated in part by his opposition to transgender ideology. 
Tyler Robinson, the suspected assassin of Kirk, wrote in a text message to his transgender-identifying boyfriend that he “had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” according to text messages released by the FBI. 
Additionally, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-attempted-kavanaugh-assassin-identifies-as-transgender-woman-legal-filings-show?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Attempted+Kavanaugh+Assassin+Identifies+As+Transgender+Woman%2C+Legal+Filings+Show">reported last week</a>, the man who attempted to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identifies as a woman, according to court documents. That attempt was motivated by the leak of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. 
The Oversight Project notes that TIVE adherents are often steeped in far-left online communities where violence is encouraged. 
“This digital infrastructure provides anonymous networks for grooming and coordinating, turning isolated resentment into organized threats, exemplified by the radicalization of figures like Tyler Robinson, who allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk over views on transgender issues after immersion in leftist online forums,” they wrote. 
Recent reporting shows that the Trump administration shares similar concerns with the Oversight Project about the rise of transgender-inspired violence. The Daily Wire reported earlier this month that there have been low-level discussions at the Justice Department about a potential ban on transgender-identifying individuals owning guns. 
On Sunday, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-leavitt-react-to-string-of-transgender-violence-additional-actions-to-come?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Reacts+To+String+Of+Transgender+Violence%3A+%E2%80%98Additional+Actions+To+Come%E2%80%99">told The Daily Wire</a> his administration was “very strongly” looking at the problem of transgender violence. 
“You know, we’re looking at that,” he responded. “But we’re looking at it very strongly. Something seems to be going on.”

Shooting At Annunciation School Church In Minneapolis Leaves Multiple Children Dead And Many Injured

Why Creating A New Terrorism Category For Transgender Violence Matters

Annunciation Catholic School

Charlie Kirk

domestic terrorism

Political Violence

A former police officer was charged last week with leaking the writings of the transgender-identifying woman who murdered three children and three adults at the Covenant School in March 2023.
But retired Lt. Garet Davidson — who was arrested and jailed on May 6 — says that he&#8217;s innocent. Davidson claims he&#8217;s being retaliated against for a complaint he filed against the department criticizing its Covenant investigation in May 2024, four months after he retired.
Davidson&#8217;s May 2024 <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/17k--mes3tmiC54vjj0uiZ9NJTsc69cau/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> complaint</a> against the police department alleges numerous instances of misconduct by top police officials, including mismanagement of the Covenant investigation, a pattern of bias in disciplinary investigations, altering performance results for low-achieving recruits, avoiding accountability, and failure to follow sexual harassment policies.
Davidson&#8217;s legal team believes that the charges were brought in retaliation for his efforts to expose problems at the police department.
“The charges against retired MNPD Lieutenant Garet Davidson represent a transparent attempt to discredit and silence a whistleblower who exposed serious misconduct within the Metro Nashville Police Department,” Davidson’s legal team said. “We look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Davidson against these retaliatory charges.”
Davidson has <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/news/retired-mnpd-lt-garet-davidson-claims-fbi-told-nashville-police-not-to-release-documents-from-covenant-school-killer-audrey-elizabeth-hale-investigation-pointed-to-precedent-for-document-destruction/tpappert/2024/06/04/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been outspoken</a> about the investigation into the Covenant shooting, telling conservative radio host Michael Patrick Leahy in June 2024 that the FBI sent a memo to police instructing them not to release any details of the attacker&#8217;s writings.
At the time, Davidson said that he had some concerns that there would be action taken against him based on the information he had shared about the FBI memo.
“I don’t put it beyond anybody,” he said. “Part of the reason why I left law enforcement was to avoid some aspects of retaliation, but that doesn’t guarantee anything.”
In the charges unveiled last week, Davidson is accused of being involved in the leak of the writings of the woman who entered the Covenant School, a Christian school in an affluent Nashville neighborhood, on March 27, 2023, and murdered six people before she was killed by police.
Following the attack, the police announced that the shooter had a &#8220;manifesto,&#8221; but refused to release it to the public. Despite that refusal, media outlets, including The Daily Wire, obtained portions and uncovered that the shooter wrote frequently of her desire to be a man and anger at her parents for resisting her so-called transition.
Prior to his arrest last week, Davidson had been linked to the police department&#8217;s investigation into the leak.
His home was raided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in November 2024 in relation to the investigation into the leak. He faces two indictments: one charges him with theft, two counts of burglary, and 30 counts of official misconduct; the other charges him with six counts of official misconduct related to the Covenant School shooting.
The raid came after he was named in a June 2024 court filing on the leak, though he was not directly named as a leaker. That came just weeks after he filed a misconduct complaint against the police department, which included criticism of the Covenant investigation.
A GoFundMe Davidson set up to help with his legal expenses has been shut down. A spokesman for the platform told The Daily Wire that the fundraiser was removed because of its policies not to raise money for “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.”
The spokesman did not further elaborate on why the fundraiser had been shut down. A <a href="https://www.givesendgo.com/garetdavidson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GiveSendGo</a> page has since been set up for Davidson&#8217;s legal fees.
Last month, the Nashville police department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-in-final-report-downplay-covenant-shooters-transgender-identity-hatred-of-christianity?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Nashville+Police+In+Final+Report+Downplay+Covenant+Shooter’s+Transgender+Identity%2C+Hatred+Of+Christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> its final investigative report into the shooting. The report, released over two years after the attack, downplayed the attacker&#8217;s hatred of Christianity and fixation on gender ideology and &#8220;white privilege.&#8221;

Retired Cop Accused Of Leaking Covenant Shooter’s Diary Says He’s Being Set Up

Police

The final police report on Nashville&#8217;s deadly Covenant School shooting, released more than two years after the attack, claims the motive of the attack was &#8220;notoriety&#8221; and makes little mention of the shooter&#8217;s radical positions on gender, race, or religious animus.
While pages from the writings of the 28-year-old woman who murdered three children and three adults at The Covenant School in March 2023 demonstrate that she was fixated on gender ideology and &#8220;white privilege,&#8221; police <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/Covenant_Final_Summary.pdf?ct=1743609642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> that she was primarily motivated by a desire for notoriety. Investigators said that neither her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documented hatred</a> of Christianity or affluent white people played a role in her targeting of The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school in a wealthy area of Nashville.
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&#8220;Regarding why she selected The Covenant, many have speculated [the shooter] selected this location for racial, religious, or economic motives,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;It is certainly true she raged over these topics at times in her writings. But none of those motives impacted her decision to attack The Covenant.&#8221;
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Instead, the police said that Covenant was targeted because the attacker, who was killed by police, believed that she would receive greater notoriety by murdering young children. Three of the victims of the March 27, 2023, attack — Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney — were all just 9 years old. The other victims of the attack were adults Michael Hill, Katherine Koonce, and Cynthia Peak.
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Throughout the report, police made little mention of the attacker&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-shooter-cited-transgender-rights-in-shooting-spree-manifesto-contradicting-official-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender identity</a>, only mentioning that she identified as a male and that she had made references to wanting to transition. 
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&#8220;It should be noted that in life, the offender &#8230; gender identified as a male and used he/him as preferred pronouns. Under Tennessee law, a person’s gender identity must correspond with their biological sex or with information present on their certificate of live birth,&#8221; police wrote. &#8220;As [the attacker] was a biological female at the time of her death and throughout the incidents described in this summary and in the case file, [the attacker] will be referred to as a female.&#8221;
In the only other mention of her transgender identity, investigators said that they uncovered no evidence of her undergoing any gender medical procedures.
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&#8220;Nothing has been found to suggest she initiated or was undergoing a transition at the time of her death, including medical documentation,&#8221; police wrote. &#8220;During her autopsy following her death, it was determined she was biologically female.&#8221; 
These mentions don&#8217;t appear to fully take into account the attacker&#8217;s transgender identity, which dominated her life.
In journal entries previously published by The Daily Wire, the attacker wrote just weeks before the deadly shooting about her fantasy of having an “imaginary penis” and said that it was a &#8220;f***ing curse&#8221; that she was born a woman.
“I want to know what that’s like, but I never will because I was damned to be born this way,” she wrote in the journal of her desire to have a penis. “I swear to f*** I hate it so goddamned much. It’s a f***ing curse.”
<div id="attachment_750005" style="width: 730px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-750005" class="size-full wp-image-750005" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/page2_720.jpg" alt="Image of Covenant School shooter's journal obtained by The Daily Wire" width="720" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/page2_720.jpg 720w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/06/page2_720-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" />Image of Covenant School shooter&#8217;s journal obtained by The Daily Wire</div>
She said that puberty ruined her life, lamenting the fact that her parents never put her on puberty blockers.
“A bare flat chest made me free. Girl puberty imprisoned me. And so does my mind. Puberty = life sentence. The people in this world adds more bullets to shoot violent thoughts into my head on full-auto,&#8221; she wrote.
In other journal entries, the attacker made clear her hatred of  Christianity and people with &#8220;white privilege,&#8221; which she believed hindered her development.
For example, she wrote that she wanted to kill “crackers going to private fancy schools&#8221; and explained why she rejected her parents&#8217; faith.
“Parents actually believe religion can change nature,” the shooter wrote. “That could explain why I don’t practice religion anymore. Let kids think for themselves, listening to parents does no damned good but to mold their premature minds into a pre-formatted program.”
These writings were portions from 16 notebooks, which some have referred to as her manifesto, and were the subject of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-judge-appears-to-back-off-on-threats-to-punish-journalist-over-articles-on-covenant-shooter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lengthy legal battle</a>. In their report, police denied the existence of a manifesto, saying that there was no singular &#8220;document explaining why she committed the attack, why she specifically targeted The Covenant, and what she hoped to gain, if anything, with the attack.&#8221;
Police investigators also ruled that the attacker was &#8220;sane&#8221; despite numerous mental health disorders.
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&#8220;Despite all her assorted mental health disorders, [the attacker] was certainly sane,&#8221; police wrote. &#8220;She was capable of adjusting her plans as needed, manipulating others into seeing her as meek and nonthreatening, and fully understood her attack was not only criminal but morally reprehensible.&#8221;
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Police say that the attacker first started to fantasize about carrying out a school shooting in 2017 before beginning to plan one in 2018.
&#8220;By this point, [the shooter] wrote how she was tired of being alone and ignored, ostracized by those she felt were her friends, and shunned by society for being autistic,&#8221; the police wrote. &#8220;After writing an expletive rant directed towards her &#8216;best friend&#8217; for choosing a relationship with a man over her, [the shooter] decided it was time to make others notice her for a change. She felt by &#8216;killing a bunch of children&#8217; she would no longer be ignored.&#8221;
Police said that the attacker floated in her mind a number of different targets, including various Nashville schools and malls. At one point, one of her plans was disrupted after her guns were confiscated by her parents, with whom she lived in Nashville.
She moved away from targeting one school because it was predominantly black, worrying that she &#8220;would be seen as a racist, which would affect how much control she had over the narrative after her death and allow others to state her motive behind the attack.&#8221;
Eventually, police say that she settled on the Covenant School because she believed she would receive more notoriety by attacking a Christian school and that the faith of the students would make them &#8220;meek and afraid.&#8221; She prepared for the attack for years, even going on a tour of the facility in September 2021 so she could map out the school&#8217;s layout in preparation.
Despite this conclusion, police said that the attacker never left behind any evidence of having a specific animosity for the Covenant School.
&#8220;She never remarked of being bullied and ostracized there; on the contrary, she remarked on a couple of occasions how she established friendships, which included play-dates at the homes of other children and a sense of acceptance,&#8221; police said. &#8220;She gave no examples of how anyone at the school belittled her or harmed her, as she did in other places she attended school.&#8220;
At the end of the report, investigators officially closed the investigation, saying that they identified no other individuals who were criminally culpable for the shooting.

Nashville Police In Final Report Downplay Covenant Shooter’s Transgender Identity, Hatred Of Christianity

The Tennessee Star on Tuesday <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/covenant-school-shooting/the-tennessee-star-releases-manifesto-left-by-transgender-covenant-school-killer-audrey-hale/tpappert/2024/09/03/">published</a> the nearly 100-page journal of the 28-year-old woman who killed three adults and three children at the Covenant Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.
The journal offers a glimpse into the mind of a self-proclaimed autistic person prone to depression and obsession. The shooter&#8217;s two most animating obsessions were left-wing ideas about transgenderism — including the idea that children will kill themselves if they cannot get gender surgery — and white privilege.
The two themes converged in the overall format of the journal, which often takes the form of diary entries addressed to a “brown girl” with whom the shooter was in love. The shooter reportedly played basketball with the girl in eighth grade and had not remained in contact, but created a race-based idea of the girl in her mind.
The diary entries detailed how the shooter&#8217;s “autistic brain” struggled with different ideas, like &#8220;white privilege&#8221;:
<blockquote>
<div id="attachment_789817" style="width: 869px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-789817" class="size-large wp-image-789817" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM-859x576.png" alt="" width="859" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM-859x576.png 859w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM-300x201.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM-768x515.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM-1536x1030.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.57.12%E2%80%AFAM.png 1900w" sizes=" (max-width: 859px) 100vw, 859px" />(Tennessee Star)</div></blockquote>
On February 7, 2023, a month before the shooting, the shooter drew a diagram that said &#8220;brain -&gt; white privilege -&gt; embarrassment of self.&#8221;
The shooter wrote poems about her longing for interracial sex:
<div id="attachment_789823" style="width: 880px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-789823" class="size-large wp-image-789823" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM-870x576.png" alt="" width="870" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM-870x576.png 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM-300x199.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM-768x509.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM-1536x1017.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.53.35%E2%80%AFAM.png 1918w" sizes=" (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" />(Tennessee Star)</div>
<div id="attachment_789825" style="width: 870px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-789825" class="size-large wp-image-789825" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM-860x576.png" alt="" width="860" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM-860x576.png 860w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM-300x201.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM-768x515.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM-1536x1029.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-11.54.13%E2%80%AFAM.png 1922w" sizes=" (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" />(Tennessee Star)</div>
Nothing in the nearly 100-page journal appears to justify the FBI&#8217;s claim that it was withholding it in the name of public safety. Nashville City Council member Courtney Johnson told The New York Post that the FBI said the manifesto couldn’t be released because it “was a blueprint on total destruction, and it was so, so detailed at the level of what she had planned… That document in the wrong person’s hands would be <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/audrey-hale-manifesto-blueprint-on-destruction-say-pols-who-claim-fbi-stalling-release/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">astronomically dangerous</a>.”
A police inventory says that there were two journals on the shooter&#8217;s desk, one under her desk, and seven under her bed, so it is possible that such information was in another journal. But this journal, which appears to be the most recent, does not include any detailed information about penetrating a school or carrying out a shooting.
Tennessee Star editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy filed a lawsuit under the Tennessee Public Records Act seeking release of the writings. Nashville judge I’Aesea Myles blocked the release of even a single page, saying the diaries were copyrighted. She also threatened Leahy with contempt of court.
Leahy said he obtained the diary through legal means outside of the Public Records Act, and published it because it was in the public interest to do so.
“These documents and photos have helped us inform the public about the underlying reasons for this heinous attack, and have helped drive the public discussion of what should be done to prevent such acts of violence in the future,&#8221; Leahy said. &#8220;We have documented a massive failure of the mental health system as a root cause of Hale’s reprehensible actions.&#8221;
The shooter wrote angrily about American politics, appearing to echo left-wing talking points about gender.
“&#8217;Land of the Free’ means, whatever f&#8212;er is taking away human rights is not of a human at all,” she wrote. “I wish death upon myself cause of the pure hatred of my female gender. With no rights, anyone’s country is a shitty dictatorship.”
She made a chart using the critical race theory buzzword of “deconstruction,” pairing it with “reconstruction&#8221;:
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<div id="attachment_789827" style="width: 891px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-789827" class="size-large wp-image-789827" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM-881x576.png" alt="" width="881" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM-881x576.png 881w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM-300x196.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM-768x502.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM-1536x1004.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-03-at-12.07.08%E2%80%AFPM.png 1936w" sizes=" (max-width: 881px) 100vw, 881px" />(Tennessee Star)</div></blockquote>
Autistic people are especially susceptible to adopting ideas that they are born in the wrong body. “Male brain -&gt; my autism?” the shooter wrote.
“Mom just says I’m young and young people make mistakes. but with me, it’s painfully more than that. with being autistic and waste time all the time,&#8221; the shooter writes.
&#8220;The torchure [sic] of being raised a girl, and actually believed I just had to deal with it, and tried to be feminine. But that didn’t last long after high school ended + no longer had to fear of being called a dyke or a faggot. It was only until my early 20s I finally found the answer-that changing one’s gender is possible. But oh f&#8212;ing no, not w/ my mother. What she believes, how she grew up conservatively and that LGBTQ-especially transgender in her era was an enigma, nearly non-existent,” she wrote.
The shooter also echoed the claim that children will commit suicide if their parents deny them the opportunity to change their gender.
“How could they not ever think of their own child suffering, and that they hate their gender so bad they cut + want to kill themselves first, and their preference of conservative religion-gay sh&#8211; makes them believe that their child they’re given should stay that way.&#8221;
Minutes before the shooting, the perpetrator messaged the person typically referred to as P.A.P. or &#8220;brown girl&#8221; in the journal, the woman —radio host Paige Patton — told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/friend-contacted-authorities-after-speaking-nashville-shooter-audrey/story?id=98182991" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a> after the incident.
“I’m planning to die today. This is not a joke. You will probably hear about me on the news after I die,” the message said. Patton called the police, who said they would send someone to review the screenshots.
Police did not arrive until after the shooting occurred.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-shooter-cited-transgender-rights-in-shooting-spree-manifesto-contradicting-official-claims">Covenant Shooter Cited Transgender ‘Rights’ In Shooting Spree Manifesto, Contradicting Official Claims</a>

Covenant Shooter’s Entire Diary Published, Revealing Obsession With White Privilege, Transgenderism

A conservative publisher has appealed a decision from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> judge to block the release of the writings of the transgender-identifying shooter who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023.
The <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/13X9TxPLPreTm2LA7nRsao5xa4Y3_f1xI/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeal</a>, from Star News Digital Media and Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, was filed in the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Wednesday. Leahy is seeking to reverse a decision from Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles that said copyright claims put on the writings of the woman who attacked The Covenant School preempted public records requests. 
“We have appealed the very bad decision by TN Chancery Court Judge Myles to prohibit the release of the Covenant killer’s writings on the dubious claim of copyright ownership by intervenors. We will win on appeal,” Leahy said in a post on X. 
Last month, Myles sided with a group of Covenant parents who asserted a copyright claim onto the writings given to them by the shooter&#8217;s parents. The group had intervened to block the release of the writings after multiple parties sued the Nashville police department for access.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
“Based upon Supremacy Clause and conflict preemption, the federal Copyright Act serves as a valid exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act and thus preempts the disclosure of any original work of authorship in any form created by the assailant [shooter’s last name] which has been collected by Respondent Metro,” Myles wrote on July 4. 
The parties seeking access include Leahy, the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, and the National Police Association. Leahy is being represented by  local lawyer Paul Krog and Nicholas Barry from the America First Legal Foundation. 
Earlier this year, police estimated they would release their investigative file by sometime in July, but that has not been done. It is unclear when the investigation will conclude.
Despite the judge’s ruling, portions of the writings have already been published by The Daily Wire and The Tennessee Star. Photos of the attacker’s journal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis?topStoryPosition=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> by The Daily Wire showed a woman who had been consumed by radical transgender theory and conveyed her anger at Christianity and her parents over their traditional views.
The Tennessee Star also sued the FBI for access to the attacker’s writings. A federal judge is currently reviewing that case.

Conservative Publisher Appeals Decision To Block Release Of Covenant Attacker’s Writings

A Tennessee judge on Thursday ruled against releasing the writings of the transgender-identifying shooter who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023. 
In a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L_Ftr8eV2Y6sZqHMyalu3Po_88cpL6oz/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a> released at 11:58 p.m. local time, Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles said that copyright claims put on the writings of the woman who attacked The Covenant School preempted public records requests. Myles also sided with Metro Nashville Police, who have so far refused to release its investigative file on the shooting, citing an ongoing investigation.
“Based upon Supremacy Clause and conflict preemption, the federal Copyright Act serves as a valid exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act and thus preempts the disclosure of any original work of authorship in any form created by the assailant [shooter’s last name] which has been collected by Respondent Metro,” Myles wrote. 
The ruling is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle over the writings, which began soon after the school was attacked last year. 
Multiple parties, including the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, The Tennessee Star, Republican state legislator Todd Gardenhire, and the National Police Association, sued the city of Nashville last year to gain access to the writings.
A group of parents from The Covenant School later intervened to block release, citing a copyright given by the killer&#8217;s parents. 
Myles further said no documents needed to be produced while police say the investigation continues. 
“The release of the remaining documents which are not original, derivative or compilation works created by the assailant is further constrained by the exceptions to disclosure set forth by the General Assembly,” Myles said, writing that, “during the pendency of this investigation and any legal proceedings thereafter, the investigative files of the police and materials therein are not available.&#8221;
She said that police “need not disclose any materials which are in its open investigative file and are relevant to any pending or contemplated criminal action until such investigation and any collateral criminal proceedings are complete.”
Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy vowed to appeal the decision.
“The judge has erroneously accepted a dubious copyright claim made by intervenors who should not have been allowed to intervene in this case in the first place,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The judge’s ruling is clearly not in the public interest and is a subversion of the intent of the Tennessee Public Records Act. We will absolutely appeal.&#8221;
Despite the judge’s ruling, portions of the writings have already been published by both The Daily Wire and The Tennessee Star. This led to Myles <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-judge-appears-to-back-off-on-threats-to-punish-journalist-over-articles-on-covenant-shooter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatening</a> to punish Leahy, but she later backed off. 
Last month, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis?topStoryPosition=1">published photos</a> of the attacker’s journal obtained by a source familiar with the investigation. The pages showed a woman who had been consumed by radical transgender theory and conveyed her anger at Christianity and her parents over their traditional views.

TN Judge Rules Against Releasing Writings Of Trans-Identifying Covenant School Shooter

copyright

A judge appeared to back off threats to hold a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservative-journalist-says-first-amendment-in-jeopardy-as-he-faces-punishment-over-articles-on-covenant-shooter">Tennessee news executive in contempt</a> of court for publishing articles on the writings of a transgender-identifying shooter who killed six people at a Christian school in Nashville last year. 
Tennessee Star Executive Michael Patrick Leahy was ordered to appear on Monday for a contempt of court hearing over his publication of the articles that quote from the writings of the Covenant School shooter. But at the start of the highly anticipated hearing, Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles said she was just trying to “understand the landscape” of developments surrounding the case, and that contempt proceedings would not commence. 
Daniel Horowitz, a lawyer representing Leahy, said after the hearing that he was confused about the point of the hearing, but was glad that there was no initiation of contempt proceedings against Leahy, who has sued the city of Nashville seeking a full release of their report on the Covenant School shooting. 
“I don’t know how this evolved or why, but I&#8217;m glad the press isn&#8217;t being threatened with jail time today. That&#8217;s a welcome development,” Horowitz told reporters, including The Daily Wire, after the hearing. “I don’t want reporters going to jail for lawful reporting. That’s why we were here today.” 
Horowitz added that he was encouraged that it seemed like “we have veered off a very dangerous road threatening reporters for lawful reporting.” 
The hearing was the latest in the legal back-and-forth over the writings of the shooter who killed three children and three adults in a March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School. The city of Nashville has so far blocked any release of the shooter’s documents, while a group of parents from the school have also sought to have the writings sealed from public view. 
The Tennessee Star began publishing a series of articles earlier this month quoting from the shooter’s writings, noting that it had obtained images of roughly eighty pages of one of the shooter’s journals. Last week, Myles suggested that Leahy might be held in contempt over the articles for violating an unspecified court order. However, Myles said on Monday that the hearing&#8217;s purpose was for her to determine whether the publication of articles on some of the shooter&#8217;s writings should impact her ruling regarding the full release. 
Myles initial order last week said that Leahy must demonstrate why the “publication of certain purported documents” does not “violate the Orders of this Court subjecting them to contempt proceedings and sanctions.” Leahy was not given the opportunity to make this case. 
In a statement after the hearing, Leahy said that he would continue to practice his First Amendment rights. 
“We started The Tennessee Star so I could exercise my First Amendment rights. I think we have served the public well, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to exercise our First Amendment rights,” Leahy <a href="https://x.com/BrentScher/status/1802757079087657432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters. 
In a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lrGLFz2cz8hF5rjKUgf7njiD_kC4nyn-/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow up order</a> on Friday denying an appeal from Leahy to dismiss the contempt hearing, Myles amended her order for Monday’s hearing, saying that it would be for the court to “ascertain the veracity of any alleged leak which may have occurred in this matter and if true, any effect on the status of these proceedings.”
At the end of Monday&#8217;s hearing, Myles said that she now “understood” what she needed to know about the case, and that she would issue a ruling. It is unclear if this ruling will be about whether there will be a future contempt hearing for Leahy or if it will pertain to the lawsuit against Nashville. 
Last week, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis?topStoryPosition=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published photos</a> of the attacker’s journal obtained by a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. The pages showed a woman who had been consumed by transgender ideology and conveyed her anger at Christianity and her parents over their traditional views.

US-SHOOTING-SCHOOL-WEAPONS

‘Veered Off A Very Dangerous Road’: Judge Backs Off From Threat To Punish Journalist Over Covenant Reporting

First Amendment

A Tennessee news executive says his First Amendment and due process rights are in jeopardy as he faces punishment over his publication of articles on the writings of the transgender-identifying shooter who killed six people at the Christian Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023. 
Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy was <a href="https://fox17.com/resources/pdf/bb104926-e6a1-4964-90ef-87a89ca72f0a-61024CHANCERYCOURTCOVENANTCASE.pdf.crdownload.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> to show up in Davidson County court on Monday for a contempt hearing after his outlet <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/covenant-school-shooting-investigation/">published multiple articles</a> quoting from the writings of the woman who killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School on March 27, 2023. The articles quoted from the writings of the shooter, disclosing that it had obtained images of the full journal that was recovered by police at the scene of the shooting. 
In her order, Judge I&#8217;Ashea Myles said that Leahy must demonstrate why the “publication of certain purported documents” does not “violate the Orders of this Court subjecting them to contempt proceedings and sanctions.”
On Wednesday, Leahy’s legal team filed an emergency appeal in response arguing that Myles&#8217; order endangers freedom of the press and violates his right to due process. The appeal, which has since <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/justice/tennessee-judge-denies-motion-by-star-news-ceo-in-covenant-killer-writings-case-raises-possibility-of-prosecution-as-leahy-files-emergency-appeal/tpappert/2024/06/13/">been denied</a>, argued that the hearing should be set aside because it violates Tennessee laws protecting reporters and rules on contempt proceedings. 
“Tennessee has enacted a robust media ‘shield law’ that protects reporters from being compelled to reveal any information—or the source of any information—procured for publication or broadcast,” the court filing says. “Such compulsion would also seriously undermine freedom of the press and news gathering generally.”
The Tennessee Star has not disclosed the details of how it obtained the documents, which is standard practice in the journalism profession.
On Friday, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2024/06/14/filing-singles-out-mnpd-whistleblower-in-covenant-records-leak">reported</a> that a retired Nashville police lieutenant has been singled out regarding the leak of records regarding the shooting investigation. Those records have been kept hidden from the public for more than a year. The lieutenant, Garet Davidson, has filed a <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2024/06/03/investigation-nashville-police-complaint">whistleblower complaint</a> regarding mismanagement at the department, and has <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/justice/retired-mnpd-lt-garet-davidson-claims-fbi-told-nashville-police-not-to-release-documents-from-covenant-school-killer-audrey-elizabeth-hale-investigation-pointed-to-precedent-for-document-destruction/tpappert/2024/06/04/">appeared</a> on Leahy&#8217;s Tennessee Star show in recent weeks.
Myles did not specify in her order what specific court orders she was referring to that might lead to Leahy and Star Digital Media being held in contempt. 
“By failing to identify the previous orders — or the provisions within them —  that this Court believes Mr. Leahy may have violated, though, this  Court’s Show Cause Order does not afford Mr. Leahy meaningful notice of the concerns that he is being ordered to address,” Leahy’s legal filing says. 
If Myles&#8217; order did restrict Leahy &#8220;from publishing lawfully obtained documents to his readership,” that order is constitutionally suspect, the filing says. 
“None of this Court’s earlier orders appears — at least to the undersigned — to contemplate such a drastic restriction,” the filing says. “If this Court  interprets one of its earlier orders that way, though, then the order is a  prior restraint that suffers from serious constitutional infirmities and is  presumptively unconstitutional.”
For well over a year, Nashville police have refused to release the writings of the shooter arguing that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing. In response, there are two ongoing lawsuits, one against the FBI and the other against the city, pushing for the release of all the shooter&#8217;s writings.
On Wednesday, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/covenant-journal-revealed-my-imaginary-penis?topStoryPosition=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> photos of the attacker&#8217;s journal obtained by a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. The entries show that she had a deep-seated hatred for Christianity and her parents for pushing back against her desire to identify as a male.

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