The city of Nashville, Tennessee, was ordered to turn over documents to a judge about the police’s investigation into the March 2023 shooting at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/the-covenant-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian school</a> by a transgender-identifying shooter, according to court filings obtained by The Daily Wire.
The order is part of the ongoing battle over what writings will be released from the woman who murdered six people, including three children, at the Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, 2023. A coalition of groups, including the National Police Association, sued last year after the Metro Nashville Police Department refused to release the killer’s writings and other investigative documents.
Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ordered the police department on Monday to give her a detailed explanation of what is contained in its “investigative file” into the shooting at the Covenant School and to give her documents they believe can be released despite the ongoing investigation into the shooting. Both requests are ordered to be responded to within 10 days.
In her order, the judge requested “an updated set of redacted documents, which counsel for Metro contends may be released, without compromising any active investigation.” Additionally, Myles asked for the police department to produce an affidavit estimating when it would be able to produce the redacted files upon completion of the investigation.
The police department has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-say-ongoing-investigation-prevents-release-of-covenant-shooters-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that it needs to wrap up its investigation before it can release most of its documents on its investigation into the shooting.
Myles’ orders for the police department follow a two-day show-cause hearing last week over whether to release the shooter’s writings or not. Several different parties sued the city of Nashville last year to gain access to the shooter’s writings, including the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, The Tennessee Star, Republican state legislator Todd Gardenhire, and the National Police Association.
Intervening in the case are the Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and a group of parents who do not want the documents released. The city now maintains that it will release most of the writings once it concludes its investigation with specific redactions related to school security.
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Myles&#8217; order also told each of the parties to produce legal briefs on whether there was a copyright exemption for public documents. The shooter’s parents transferred copyright to her writings to Covenant parents, and representation for the parents has attempted to block the release of any of the shooter’s writings through copyright claims.
Some of the parents have argued that releasing the killer’s writings would allow her &#8220;to speak from the grave” and give her notoriety. On the other side, the groups have argued that the release of the writings will allow the public to understand motivations and give insight into stopping similar shootings.
Russ Nobile, a lawyer for Judicial Watch working with the Tennessee Firearms Association, argued last week that his clients wanted the documents because it was important to know what led to the shooting, especially because of the local and national implications of the case.
The parties have until April 29 to respond to how copyright claims interact with the Tennessee Public Records Act and Nashville has until May 2 to respond to Myles’ other requests.
In a different suit, a federal judge is <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/justice/fbi-delivers-covenant-killer-writings-to-federal-judge-for-in-camera-review/khousler/2024/04/22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">currently reviewing</a> the FBI&#8217;s documents on its investigation into the Covenant shooting after The Tennessee Star sued the agency for more details. U.S. District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger ordered the documents be released for her review due part because of the “significant public interest&#8221; around the investigation.

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

Judge Orders Nashville Police To Provide Details Of Investigation Into Covenant School Shooter

Crime

Nashville

School Shooting

Tennessee

The Covenant School

U.S.

Attorneys representing Nashville, Tennessee argued Tuesday in court that police were still investigating aspects of the shooting committed at the Covenant School last March, when a transgender-identifying shooter murdered six people, and, therefore, the city is unable to release documents related to the case such as the shooter&#8217;s writings.
The argument came during a hearing over whether to release the killer’s writings, which have thus far been sealed from the public. The hearing, overseen by Judge I&#8217;Ashea L. Myles, took place at the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, comes just over a year after three young children and three school staff members were killed during the shooting at Covenant, a private Christian school in Nashville. 
During the hearing, Lora Fox, an attorney for the city of Nashville, indicated that the city’s police were still investigating the shooting, including probing whether the transgender-identifying killer had any accomplices. The shooter was shot dead by authorities on the scene of the crime, and there has thus far been no indication that anybody else was involved.
Notably, Fox stated that Nashville police expected to wrap up their investigation by July 1. Fox said the police are prepared to release most of their investigative file, excluding some details about school security and diagrams of the school. When questioned by Myles, she also said that she believed that the killer’s journal, which was found in the car she left at the school, would be able to be released to the public with some redactions.
The debate during the hearing pinned on interpretation of the Tennessee Public Records Act and the Tennessee Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. Lawyers for groups advocating for the documents to be released say there is compelling public interest for the public to view the killer’s writings.
“The only question before the court is whether there are any exemptions that preclude public access to these records,&#8221; said Doug Pierce, a lawyer for the National Police Association, one of the groups represented in the lawsuit. &#8220;There is a presumption of openness. Those parties have the burden of proof here. The statutes should be construed to allow the public access to records.”
A lawyer for Judicial Watch, which is representing one of the groups in court, argued that Metro Nashville needs to provide a more detailed list of materials obtained from the shooter, as well as specific reasons why they&#8217;re exempted from release.
Lawyers for both Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church, where the school is located, argued against the release of the writings. The church asked for more limited redactions pertaining to security while the school requested a broad ban on any of the killer&#8217;s writings being released.
Peter Klett, a lawyer for the school, argued that releasing the shooter&#8217;s writings could trigger more hatred and violence toward children and Christians. &#8220;Hateful words of the shooter certainly may have an audience in the general public,&#8221; he said, arguing against their release.
Limited <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-finally-address-leaked-images-of-covenant-school-shooters-manifesto">portions</a> of the alleged manifesto were leaked by commentator Steven Crowder, who obtained three photographs of the writings. The pages included racial slurs against white children as well as an itinerary for “death day,” which articulated the shooter&#8217;s intent to have a “high death count.”
Brent Leatherwood, a parent of several children who attend the Covenant School and the head of the Southern Baptist denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, briefly spoke with reporters outside the courtroom after the Tuesday hearing. Leatherwood said the “deranged ramblings” of the shooter did not qualify as public records.
He said the lawyers seeking the release of the writings acted like they were representing the shooter because their desire to release the writings would give her notoriety.
The case is expected to resume on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. when the court is expected to hear arguments from Covenant school parents and rebuttals from the groups seeking the release of the documents. It is unclear when Myles will issue her decision on whether to release the writings or not.

Nashville Police Say ‘Ongoing Investigation’ Prevents Release Of Covenant Shooter’s Manifesto

A Nashville, Tennessee court is set to hear long-awaited arguments over whether or not to release documents that belonged to the transgender-identifying shooter who murdered six people at the Covenant School, which have been kept sealed from the public for more than a year.
The <a href="https://www.newschannel5.com/news/the-covenant-documents-hearing-starts-this-week-but-what-has-happened-in-the-case">court proceedings</a>, overseen by Judge I&#8217;Ashea L. Myles, will decide whether a trove of documents belonging to the shooter, who took the lives of three children and three staff members at the private Christian academy on March 27th, 2023, will be made available to the public.
Included is not only the shooter&#8217;s manifesto, but also 14 different home videos, 20 journals, a suicide note, and a psych folder with medical information about the shooter. There are also three folders with information on school shootings and firearms courses, as well as a memoir and notes written by the shooter.
The hearing hinges on the Tennessee Public Records Act, which controls what documents should be classified as public records, as well as which ones should not. Five different parties are part of the suit — the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, The Tennessee Star, Republican state legislator Todd Gardenhire, and the National Police Association.
On the other side is a group of families from the Covenant School that filed a motion to block the release of the documents, arguing that their release could further traumatize those who were personally affected by the shooting.
Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake previously said that he would release records pertaining to the case before later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-refuse-to-release-school-shooters-manifesto-citing-pending-lawsuit">backtracking</a>. Multiple entities have submitted public records requests, including The Daily Wire, but all have been declined.
A small <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-finally-address-leaked-images-of-covenant-school-shooters-manifesto">portion</a> of the manifesto was leaked in November by podcaster Steven Crowder, who obtained three photographs of the alleged manifesto. The pages included racial slurs against white children as well as an itinerary for &#8220;death day,&#8221; which articulated her intent to have a &#8220;high death count.&#8221;
David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, has stated that the shooter did not write about politics or social issues, with her writings largely dedicated to idolizing previous school shooters. Rausch also says the documents show shooter planned the attack on the Covenant School for months. 
Judicial Watch, which <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/covenant-school-shooter/">filed the lawsuit</a> on behalf of the groups, has also called for the public release of the documents and charged that the secrecy is due to politics.
“We urge the court to place the public’s right to know above any political considerations,” the organization’s president, Tom Fitton, said on Monday.

Court Set To Hear Arguments Over Release Of Covenant Shooter’s Manifesto. Here’s What You Need To Know

A Tennessee music venue is hosting a &#8220;Trans Day of Vengeance&#8221; concert just days after the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting at The Covenant School, in which a transgender-identifying woman killed three children and three adults, apparently out of ideological fury.
A flyer promoted by several bands says that the Graveyard Gallery in Murfreesboro is hosting the concert on March 31, and using it to raise money for a group that provides gender reassignment surgery. The shooting occurred on March 27, 2023, at the Christian school in Nashville, less than an hour away.
The party comes with Nashville schools in high alert because of the potential for violence on the anniversary of the shooting. The shooting last year came as radical transgender activists rallied for a &#8220;Trans Day of Vengeance&#8221; on the same day that year, with the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) saying, “The time is now, enough is enough.”
President Joe Biden in 2021 recognized March 31 as the &#8220;Transgender Day of Visibility,&#8221; which trans activists changed to &#8220;vengeance.&#8221; Whether that Day of Vengeance may have spurred the timing of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-release-footage-of-nashville-christian-school-shooter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">child-killer&#8217;s</a> act is unknown because authorities have refused to release her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-refuse-to-release-school-shooters-manifesto-citing-pending-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manifesto</a>.
The flyer for this year&#8217;s event says &#8220;all proceeds will be donated to Point of Pride&#8221; and that the bands include Dumpster Pussy, Dru The Drifter + The Back Alley Hookers, Boy Clothes, Spinning Lodge, and the Oitakus. It says the event is presented by Boro Fondo, a &#8220;music, art, and bike fest&#8221; that is advertising the show and asking attendees to &#8220;bring new or used chest binders to donate to Point of Pride.&#8221;
&#8220;Point of Pride mails gender affirming garments to trans and gender-diverse people who cannot afford or otherwise access them,&#8221; a poster on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/borofondo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boro Fondo&#8217;s Instagram</a> page says. &#8220;Shipping is free. Point of Pride provides funding towards surgery, hormone replacement therapy, and permanent hair removal services.&#8221;
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Graveyard Gallery did not return requests for comment. Nor did Spinning Lodge or the Oitakus.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-714099" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster-584x576.png" alt="" width="584" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster-584x576.png 584w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster-300x296.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster-768x758.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster-1536x1516.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/vengeance-poster.png 1826w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" /></div>
Boro Fondo told The Daily Wire that while its event calling for &#8220;vengeance&#8221; may &#8220;sound frightening,&#8221; nobody associated with the event &#8220;is planning any actual violent acts.&#8221;
&#8220;It does sound frightening, especially considering the tragic event from last year,&#8221; it said in an email to the Daily Wire. &#8220;Our hearts go out to the affected families, and you’ll find many trans people from TN denounced what this person did. However, it is merely a play on &#8216;Trans Day of Visibility&#8217; which is the day on which the show is taking place.&#8221;
&#8220;Our &#8216;vengeance&#8217; is simply existing despite the immense adversity trans people face in Tennessee every day,&#8221; it added. &#8220;We would like to stress that nobody associated with us is planning any actual violent acts.&#8221;
TRAN&#8217;s website for last year&#8217;s event included violent rhetoric, quoting trans activist Sylvia Rivera who said, &#8220;I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought, ‘My god, the revolution is here.'&#8221;
The 2023 event in Washington, D.C. was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-day-of-vengeance-canceled-organizers-cite-threat-to-life-and-safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cancelled</a> at the last minute — not out of respect for the slain children, but because &#8220;the safety of our trans community is first priority&#8221; and there was a &#8220;flood of raw hatred directed towards the trans community after the Tennessee shooting.&#8221;
Transgender activists aim to get &#8220;vengeance&#8221; for what they imagine is a &#8220;genocide&#8221; against them. However, that genocide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-stats-on-2021-anti-trans-hate-crimes-dont-support-claims-of-genocide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">does not exist</a>, according to Department of Justice statistics.
Transgenders were the victims of 271 hate crimes in 2021, most of them minor, with the exception of two murders and two rapes. Seventy were &#8220;intimidation,&#8221; and 37 were vandalism. Half of the offenders were black.
Based on the FBI data, a black person’s chance of being the victim of a hate crime in a given year is 98 in a million, a Jewish person stands a 109 in a million chance. The likelihood of a transgender person is less than half of that, a rate similar to the one for Muslims.
<div id="attachment_519824" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-519824" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-519824" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-864x576.jpg" alt="Members of the Selected First Motorcycle Club join others in prayer at a makeshift memorial for victims of a shooting at the Covenant School campus, in Nashville, Tennessee, March 28, 2023. - A heavily armed former student killed three young children and three staff in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack at a private elementary school in Nashville on March 27, 2023, before being shot dead by police. Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/GettyImages-1249798021-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
The national TRAN group, which is not known to be affiliated with the Murfreesboro concert, was led by an individual who &#8220;came out as a lesbian at age 29 and as a transgender man at age 50,&#8221; as well as another who said  &#8220;What motivated me to start TRAN was the fact I was bullied to the point where I attempted to end my own life. The person that bullied me was a fellow member of the LGBTIA+.”
The Virginia chapter was led by Bo Belotti, who once <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-activists-called-for-day-of-vengeance-before-nashville-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked for</a> Elizabeth Guzman, a Democrat Virginia state lawmaker.
This piece was updated to include comment from Boro Fondo.

Screenshot 2024-03-27 at 7.59.58 AM

Tennessee Venue To Host ‘Trans Day Of Vengeance’ Event Days After Covenant Shooting Anniversary

Terrorists

Transgender

Nearly a year after a trans-identifying woman entered a Nashville Christian school and murdered three adults and three children, a federal judge in Tennessee has ordered the FBI to release the shooter&#8217;s manifesto, which has been kept from the public since authorities recovered writings from her car and home.
Shortly after authorities said they recovered the shooter&#8217;s diary and manifesto, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-deny-daily-wires-request-for-trans-shooters-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied requests from The Daily Wire</a> and others for a copy of the writings, replying, “The investigation is still an open case. … Once the case is closed, please re-request at a later date.” Conservative newspaper The Tennessee Star then sued the MNPD and the FBI after its public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act were denied.
The FBI attempted to get the Star&#8217;s complaint dismissed, but Judge Aleta Trauger of the Middle District of Tennessee said late last week that there is &#8220;significant public interest&#8221; in the &#8220;materials&#8221; and &#8220;law enforcement objectives&#8221; in the case, and the bureau did not support its position &#8220;with sufficient clarity or detail,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-orders-fbi-hand-over-trans-school-shooter-audrey-hale-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;The FBI is ORDERED to produce ex parte all documents that are potentially responsive to the defendants’ Freedom of Information Act request for in camera review, with the exception that, based on the plaintiffs’ concessions in this litigation, the FBI need not produce any documents that could not reasonably be construed to bear on (the shooter&#8217;s) motives,&#8221; the judge wrote.
The 28-year-old shooter, a woman who identified as a man in the months leading up to the shooting, entered The Covenant School on March 27, 2023, gunning down three adults, including the head of the school, and three 9-year-old children in what authorities described as a “targeted attack.” Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9; Cynthia Peak, age 61; Katherine Koonce, age 60; and Mike Hill, age 61, were killed before MNPD officers took out the shooter.
Local authorities, along with the FBI, searched the home of the female shooter shortly after the killings, where they found “a manifesto” along with maps of the school drawn in detail that included points of entry. After the search, MNPD Chief John Drake said authorities have a theory on the shooter’s motive, but they were not ready to share it. Nearly a year later, neither the MNPD nor the FBI has provided any more information on a motive.
A Nashville judge has also allowed parents of The Covenant School students to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/group-of-covenant-school-parents-moves-to-keep-records-secret" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intervene</a> in the open records requests. The parents say that releasing the manifesto would only cause more trauma for the victims and their families.
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In November, conservative podcaster Steven Crowder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-shooter-decried-crackers-and-white-privilege-leaked-manifesto-pages-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained and revealed</a> three pages of the shooter&#8217;s writings, which show the shooter decried &#8220;white privilege.&#8221;
“Kill those kids!!! Those crackers going to private fancy schools with those fancy khakis + sports backpacks w/ their daddies mustangs + convertables [sic],” the 28-year-old female shooter wrote in a diary entry dated February 3.
“I wish to shoot you weakass d—ks w/ your mop yellow hair, wanna kill all you little crackers! Bunch of little f—gots w/ your white privileges,” she wrote.
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<div class="m"><picture><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/343/192/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/686/384/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(max-width: 767px)" /><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/672/378/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/1344/756/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" /><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/931/523/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/1862/1046/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" /><source srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/720/405/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/03/1440/810/954b2e01-Covenant-School-Nashville-Shooting_001.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x" media="(min-width: 1280px)" /></picture></div>
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Covenant School

Federal Judge Orders FBI To Release Manifesto Of Trans-Identifying Nashville Shooter

Courts

manifesto

Police

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> court ruled on Thursday that a group of parents can intervene in the legal fight to block the release of the manifesto of the transgender-identifying woman who murdered six people at a Christian school in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nashville" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nashville</a> earlier this year. 
The Tennessee Court of Appeals said that the Covenant School, Covenant Presbyterian Church, and parents at the school had standing to intervene in efforts to block the manifesto’s release, but did not rule on whether to block the release of the shooter’s writings.
“In this appeal, the only issues properly before this Court concern the trial court’s grant of intervention to Intervenors — any issues concerning the disclosure of the sought records had not yet been adjudicated at the time this appeal was filed and are not before this Court,” Judge Thomas Frierson <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/73/2023/11/Covenant-Parents-Intervention-Ruling.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
The church, school, and some parents of kids at the school have <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/appeals-court-panel-rules-in-favor-of-covenant-parents-in-manifesto-lawsuit/?email=84885943124850418dccfffa5f984fb2b1450cf1&amp;emaila=6cb861e5998d3d6a1ce8452947dee058&amp;emailb=78504d1586e2066c8a05f4b619c2e64c552dbc337ec8d9ba2cb59caa7c91ecac&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Curated%20Morning%20Headlines%202023-12-01&amp;utm_content=morning%20headlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that the shooter’s writings should remain sealed for security and privacy purposes. 
The ruling is the latest update in the legal battle over the manifesto of the 28-year-old woman who went on a rampage inside The Covenant School, a Presbyterian-affiliated pre-K-6 school, where she killed six people on March 28, 2023. The victims of the attack included three 9-year-olds — Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9; Hallie Scruggs, 9; William Kinney, 9 — and three staff members — headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61.
The Metropolitan Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation denied <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-deny-daily-wires-request-for-trans-shooters-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open records</a> requests from The Daily Wire, the Tennessee Star, and other outlets, citing that it was an ongoing investigation — even though the shooter was killed by police during the attack. 
Michael Patrick Leahy, the CEO of Star News Digital Media, <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/justice/tennessee-appeals-court-rules-covenant-parents-may-intervene-in-lawsuit-seeking-audrey-hale-manifesto/tpappert/2023/11/30/?ref=pamphleteer.co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Tennessee Star may consider an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
“The Chancery Court ruling to allow the intervention was a clear violation of Tennessee statutes, as was today’s ruling by the Court of Appeals. We are evaluating our options, which may include directly appealing this faulty decision to the Tennessee Supreme Court,” he said in a statement. 
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Portions of the manifesto <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-shooter-decried-crackers-and-white-privilege-leaked-manifesto-pages-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked last month</a> showing the killer claiming the kids at the school had “white privilege” and calling them “crackers.” 
“Kill those kids!!! Those crackers going to private fancy schools with those fancy khakis + sports backpacks w/ their daddies mustangs + convertables [sic],” she wrote in her diary. 
“I wish to shoot you weakass d***s w/ your mop yellow hair, wanna kill all you little crackers! Bunch of little f*****s w/ your white privileges,” she wrote.
Three photographs of the pages of the shooter’s diary were obtained by commentator Steven Crowder, who reported that his investigative team independently confirmed the authenticity of the images. The Daily Wire’s sources have also confirmed the authenticity of the pages.
The case now heads back to the the Chancery Court for Davidson County in Nashville.

Tennessee Court Rules That Parents Can Intervene In Fight Over Release Of Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto

A man who identifies as a transgender woman has been charged in federal court and held in jail for threatening to shoot up schools and pledging to rape Christian girls in bathrooms — after local Illinois authorities released him with no bond.
Jason Lee Willie of Nashville, Illinois, who goes by Alexia N. Willie, was charged November 7 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois with 14 felony counts of Interstate Communication of a Threat to Injure, court records show. He allegedly modeled his actions off of the transgender-identifying woman who shot up the Christian Covenant School in Tennessee.
“A person in Tennessee walked into one of your schools and shot up a bunch of your Christian daughters. That’s not the last of them if you don’t shut your f***ing mouth,” Willie said, according to the indictment.
“There’s a lot of transgenders out here that are tired of being picked on and we’re going to go into the schools and we’re going to kill their f***ing children out here, and that’s the end of it. We’re at war,” he allegedly said, also saying ,“Let me put a bullet in your head.”
In August 2023, the 47-year old made a video call on an online platform in which he said, “I guarantee I’ll be in the bathroom raping your Christian daughters,” the <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67987364/united-states-v-willie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indictment</a> alleged.
“I catch your daughters in them bathrooms alone, I am gonna f*** them. I mean I am gonna f*** f*** them until they’re dead,” he said, according to the indictment.
“I’m openly a pedophile …. You can’t do nothing about us. You can cry. Cry. Put me on national television, I don’t care. I’m transgender, I’m in the bathroom raping your f*** daughters and I’m openly letting you guys know this. The Republican Party, what are you f****ts going to do about us?” he allegedly said.
Willie also criticized black people, arguing that they are Christian and don’t like transgender people.
“They’re trash, they’re Christian trash. They’re transphobic, they’re homophobic. They’re no different than the f***ing white supremacists. That’s exactly who the f*** they are. Listen, Dave Chappelle and all the blacks out here, all the black people out here talking about trannies and s***, they ain’t no different than the white supremacists either. You all bow to the same cross,” he allegedly said.
Willie also said he would inject people with HIV in the bathroom if he saw them wearing a cross, according to the indictment.
“I catch you b*****s out here with a cross around your neck in that restroom, you better know we’re going to hit you with a f***ing syringe,” he allegedly said, adding “shut the f*** up, n*****.”
The Department of Justice led with him using the n-word, burying the transgender comments later in the indictment.
Willie pleaded not guilty November 9, and Magistrate Judge Reona J. Daly ordered that he be held in jail on November 14. A <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilsd.98857/gov.uscourts.ilsd.98857.16.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proffer of evidence</a>, presented by federal prosecutors to convince the judge to hold him in jail, said that Willie made the comments in August on the video platform “MeetMe,” where his username was “Mentally Unstable.”
It said that the Perry County Sherriff&#8217;s Office had arrested him at the time, but that Willie mocked them while he was being transported to jail, predicting that Illinois would free him immediately. “I’ll get out of jail right now, you watch me. And when I get out you have no idea,” he said in a recording from a police van, federal prosecutors said.
<a href="https://reduxx.info/trans-identified-male-arrested-after-threatening-to-murder-children-in-illinois-over-transphobic-bullying/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reduxx</a> reported on October 16 about that local arrest, and Sherriff Chad Howard told the outlet that Willie&#8217;s prediction was accurate: he was released on $0 bond 48 hours after being booked. Though Willie was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, “the disorderly conduct did not stick” because “there was no one individual person or individual school directly threatened,” the sherriff said. That left only a resisting arrest charge, which Howard said because of Illinois’ new SAFE-T Act, a suspect cannot be held in jail for.
The sheriff told Reduxx that in a jailhouse interview, Willie said that when he said “we” were coming for your children, “he was speaking on behalf of the transgender community.”
Willie was released from state custody on August 17, and on August 24, Willie&#8217;s roommate contacted Perry County Sheriff’s Office to say that “Willie claimed to be learning how to use firearms and how to obtain a firearm so that she could follow through on the threats that she had made,” federal documents said.
On August 25, the FBI received another tip from MeetMe that he was still making similar comments. On November 8, the FBI arrested him, according to the federal court document.
A trial is set for January 16. Judith A. Kuenneke, a public defender listed as Willie&#8217;s representative, did not return a request for comment.
Federal prosecutors said that the FBI had repeatedly been warned about Willie by his roommate over the years, who told the bureau that “Willie goes on the internet to find preachers, or republicans, or black people,” and that “the FBI had come to his house a couple times over the last few years because of Willie’s online conduct.”
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They wrote that in December 2018, “the FBI received reports of a threat on Facebook in which Willie claimed to have killed a preacher that had molested Willie.” In November 2019, the video platform Twitch reported that he said he threatened to kill people, and mentioned people who discriminate against transgenders; the FBI interviewed him and Willie told him he didn’t mean it.
“On March 28, one day after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, the FBI received a report that Willie posted on Facebook that there would be many more and larger attacks on Christians by transgender people and that Christians would come to know fear like never before,” it said.
The FBI has suggested that it is not treating the Tennessee shooting as a hate crime.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-fbi-dropped-probe-of-pedophile-to-focus-on-january-6-now-hes-accused-of-abusing-10-year-old-boy">The FBI Halted Probe Of Pedophile To Focus On January 6. Now He’s Accused Of Abusing A 10-Year-Old Boy.</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-satanist-pedophile-gang-is-torturing-kids-the-fbi-didnt-seem-to-care-unless-it-could-blame-white-supremacy">A Satanist Pedophile Gang Is Torturing Kids. The FBI Didn’t Seem To Care Unless It Could Blame White Supremacy.</a>

US-SHOOTING-SCHOOL-WEAPONS

Feds Charge Trans-Identifying Man After He Pledged To Copycat Nashville Shooting: ‘I’m Coming For Them In The Bathrooms’

Hate Crime

Illinois

Nashville police said Wednesday that seven individuals were on &#8220;administrative assignment&#8221; as authorities continue investigating the leaked three pages from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-police-finally-address-leaked-images-of-covenant-school-shooters-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Covenant School shooter’s writings</a> earlier this week.
“Seven individuals are on administrative assignment (absolutely non-punitive) to protect the integrity of the active, progressing investigation,” a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department told The Daily Wire. “All seven have full police power. We are not identifying any of the seven by name. Not fair to them.”
Podcaster Steven Crowder, host of the &#8220;Louder with Crowder&#8221; talk show, released the three photographs from the shooter’s alleged manifesto on Monday morning.
The pages contained a number of racial slurs targeted at white children and a full itinerary of the tragic day labeled “Death Day,” where she stated her intent to achieve a “high death count” of students at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian-affiliated pre-K-6 private Christian academy.
Crowder told local outlet WKRN that a detective present at the Covenant School in the aftermath of the mass shooting took the photos of the images and later sent them to a source within the Metro Nashville Police Department. Crowder said his team traveled to Nashville to obtain the pictures and verify the authenticity of the source.
He added that authorities should be able to authenticate the images, considering the police department was in possession of the manifesto.
Nashville police later released a vague statement on the images of the trans-identifying school shooter’s manifesto, saying they “are not MNPD crime scene images,” and that it is investigating the release of the three photographs.
“The MNPD is in communication with the Metropolitan Department of Law as an investigation, begun this morning, continues into the dissemination of three photographs of writings during an on-line discussion about Covenant School,” Metro Nashville Police Department said in a news release. “The photographs are not MNPD crime scene images.”
“The police department has been in contact with a representative of Covenant families,” the statement added. “Police department counselors are available to assist them in coping with the emotional trauma caused by the dissemination.”
Nashville Chief of Police John Drake <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/news/statement-chief-drake-concerning-covenant-shooter-writings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a statement following the leaked images purportedly belonging to the Covenant School shooter.
“I am greatly disturbed by today’s unauthorized release of three pages of writings from the Covenant shooter,&#8221; Drake said in a news release. &#8220;This police department is extremely serious about the investigation to identify the person responsible.&#8221;
Drake said the release of the images &#8220;showed a total disregard for Covenant families, as well as the court system,&#8221; which currently have possession of the shooter&#8217;s journals due to litigation  filed earlier this year.
&#8220;We are not at liberty to release the journals until the courts rule,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Our police department looks forward to the ultimate resolution of the litigation concerning the journals.”
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell released a statement, saying he directed authorities to launch an investigation into the leaked documents.
“I have directed Wally Dietz, Metro’s Law Director, to initiate an investigation into how these images could have been released,” O’Connell said. “That investigation may involve local, state, and federal authorities. I am deeply concerned with the safety, security, and well-being of the Covenant families and all Nashvillians who are grieving. This incident naturally invokes additional emotional trauma, and families or individuals who need support should reach out to professionals at National Alliance on Mental Illness (615-891-4724), MNPD support counselors (615-862-7773) or MNPS Family Information Center (615-259-INFO).”
Multiple news outlets, including The Daily Wire and FOX 17 News, have independently confirmed the authenticity of the pages. It is unclear whether the police department is calling into question the authenticity of the images.
On March 27, 2023, the shooter, whom The Daily Wire is not naming to avoid giving notoriety to mass shooters, went on a rampage inside the Nashville elementary school. The victims included three students — Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9; Hallie Scruggs, 9; William Kinney, 9 — and three staff members — headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61.
Hours after the shooting, federal and local authorities searched the shooter’s property, where they found five laptops, a suicide note, two memoirs, five Covenant School yearbooks, and seven cellphones, according to a search warrant. Authorities found more writings inside the shooter’s vehicle left in the Covenant School parking lot.
The materials have since been in high-demand to follow a long-standing tradition of U.S. law enforcement to release the manifesto of a school mass shooter when it is recovered by authorities — typically within 48 hours of the tragedy.
The Daily Wire and a host of other organizations have sought access through open records requests to the collection of her writings.
School officials and a group of parents — including the shooter’s parents — have requested that the writings remain private, citing safety concerns for their families and school staff while arguing they have rights as victims under the Tennessee Constitution that supersede the open records law. But organizations, including the National Police Association, say that Tennessee state law requires authorities to release the manifesto to the public.
An ongoing legal battle continues whether authorities should release the full manifesto to the public. It is now pending in Davidson County Chancery Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Nashville Police Say 7 Individuals On ‘Administrative Assignment’ Amid Probe Into Leaked Images From Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

Nashville Police Say 7 Individuals On 'Administrative Assignment' Amid Probe Into Leaked Images From Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

The Metro Nashville Police Department on Monday afternoon released a vague statement on the images of the trans-identifying school shooter&#8217;s manifesto, saying they &#8220;are not MNPD crime scene images,&#8221; and that it is investigating the release of the three photographs.
&#8220;The MNPD is in communication with the Metropolitan Department of Law as an investigation, begun this morning, continues into the dissemination of three photographs of writings during an on-line discussion about Covenant School,&#8221; Metro Nashville Police Department said in a <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/news/mnpd-statement-concerning-line-photograph-dissemination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>. &#8220;The photographs are not MNPD crime scene images.&#8221;
&#8220;The police department has been in contact with a representative of Covenant families,&#8221; the statement added. &#8220;Police department counselors are available to assist them in coping with the emotional trauma caused by the dissemination.&#8221;
Podcaster Steven Crowder, host of the Louder with Crowder talk show, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashville-shooter-decried-crackers-and-white-privilege-leaked-manifesto-pages-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> the three photographs from the shooter&#8217;s alleged manifesto on Monday morning. The pages contained a number of racial slurs targeted at white children and a full itinerary of the tragic day labeled, &#8220;Death Day,&#8221; where she stated her intent to achieve a &#8220;high death count&#8221; of students at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian-affiliated pre-K-6 private Christian academy.
Multiple news outlets, including The Daily Wire and <a href="https://fox17.com/news/local/nashville-tennessee-news-graphic-writings-left-behind-by-the-covenant-school-mass-shooter-leaked-reigniting-debate">FOX 17 News</a>, have independently confirmed the authenticity of the pages. It is unclear whether the police department is calling into question the authenticity of the images.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 BREAKING: Nashville School Covenant Shooter Audrey Hale’s “DEATH DAY” Manifesto Targeted “Cr*ckers” with “white privlages”
“wanna kill all you little cr*ckers”
“I hope I have a high death count”
&quot;I&#39;m ready&#8230;I hope my victims aren&#39;t.&quot;
&quot;Ready to die.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NashvilleManifesto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NashvilleManifesto</a> <a href="https://t.co/89Ie6TlgRf">pic.twitter.com/89Ie6TlgRf</a>
&mdash; Steven Crowder (@scrowder) <a href="https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/1721545965402726734?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Crowder <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/covenant-school-mass-shooting/unverified-documents-by-covenant-shooter-released-by-radio-host/?utm_source=wkrn_app&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=share-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> local outlet WKRN that a detective present at the Covenant School in the aftermath of the mass shooting took the photos of the images and later sent them to a source within the Metro Nashville Police Department. Crowder said his team traveled to Nashville to obtain the pictures and verify the authenticity of the source.
He added authorities should be able to authenticate the images, considering the police department was in possession of the manifesto.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O&#8217;Connell released a statement, saying he directed authorities to launch an investigation into the leaked documents.
&#8220;I have directed Wally Dietz, Metro&#8217;s Law Director, to initiate an investigation into how these images could have been released,&#8221; O&#8217;Connell said. &#8220;That investigation may involve local, state, and federal authorities. I am deeply concerned with the safety, security, and well-being of the Covenant families and all Nashvillians who are grieving. This incident naturally invokes additional emotional trauma, and families or individuals who need support should reach out to professionals at National Alliance on Mental Illness (615-891-4724), MNPD support counselors (615-862-7773) or MNPS Family Information Center (615-259-INFO).&#8221;
On March 27, 2023, the shooter, whom The Daily Wire is not naming to avoid giving notoriety to shooters, went on a rampage inside the Nashville elementary school. The victims included three students — Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9; Hallie Scruggs, 9; William Kinney, 9 — and three staff members — headmaster Katherine Koonce, 60; Cynthia Peak, 61; and Mike Hill, 61.
Hours after the shooting, federal and local authorities searched the shooter&#8217;s property, where they found five laptops, a suicide note, two memoirs, five Covenant School yearbooks, and seven cellphones, according to a search warrant. Authorities found more writings inside the shooter&#8217;s vehicle left in the Covenant School parking lot.
The shooter, a former student at the Covenant School, reportedly documented plans in journals, which revealed her considerations and timeline for the attack at the school. Some documents obtained by law enforcement indicated the shooter had been planning a massacre at the private Christian elementary school for months and considered &#8220;the actions of other mass murderers.&#8221;
Attorney David Raybin, who represents the shooter&#8217;s family, released a <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/2023/11/06/investigation-underway-after-release-alleged-covenant-shooters-writings-nashville-mayor-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to an NBC affiliate concerning the manifesto.
&#8220;We have never seen [a] manifesto at any time,&#8221; David Raybin said. &#8220;We&#8217;re not in a position to authenticate these pieces of paper. We have absolutely not released anything, but we certainly did not release this. It&#8217;s inappropriate for me to make any further comment about it.&#8221;
It&#8217;s a long-standing tradition of U.S. law enforcement to release the manifesto of a school mass shooter when it is recovered by authorities — typically within 48 hours of the tragedy. But after months of withholding the documents from the public, a growing speculation that the shooter&#8217;s so-called gender identity has corrupted the official&#8217;s judgment from being transparent.
The Daily Wire and a host of other organizations have sought access through open records requests to the collection of her writings.
School officials and a group of parents — including the shooter&#8217;s parents — have requested that the writings remain private, citing safety concerns for their families and school staff while arguing they have rights as victims under the Tennessee Constitution that supersede the open records law. But organizations, including the National Police Association, say that Tennessee state law requires authorities to release the manifesto to the public.
An ongoing legal battle continues whether authorities should release the full manifesto to the public.

Nashville Police Finally Address Leaked Images Of Covenant School Shooter’s Manifesto

Leaked Content Allegedly Belonging To Trans-Identifying School Shooter's Manifesto Not 'Crime Scene Images,' Nashville Police Say

Just months after three children were slaughtered at a Christian school in the state&#8217;s capital, a Tennessee public school district returned a student to the classroom who last year threatened to shoot up his school — putting him in close quarters with the students who had testified against him in court, a Daily Wire investigation found.
Ninth graders at Giles County High School, in a rural community an hour south of Nashville, showed up for the new school year this August to find that the boy who sixteen months prior was arrested for his plan to shoot up their middle school had rejoined them in high school.
About seven of them had testified against him in court last year, detailing how he had a list of students he intended to kill, had a date picked out, and was running drills to practice the act. Now he was back and, they believed, had an additional motive for carnage.
When parents raised their concerns to the school district, it falsely stated that laws from the Republican-controlled statehouse were to blame for the situation. Parents say the school told them to become &#8220;activists&#8221; in the special session, where Democrats were pushing for gun control, if they had a problem with it.
Hannah Riley, whose son testified that he was warned by the would-be shooter not to come to school on a certain date so that he would live, said she and numerous others have pulled their children out of school because they believe their children are sitting ducks. She said the culprit, who The Daily Wire is not naming, disclosed his plan to her child because her child once showed him kindness, and he told authorities.
“My child’s desk is empty at my choosing because I don’t want it empty permanently,” Riley told The Daily Wire, adding that it brought tears to her eyes to have him miss out on key high school moments. “My child did the right thing and now he’s the one being punished…. This child has stated his motives repeatedly. My child saw the list.”
Parents have been pleading with the school to do something, but officials have tried to pass the buck onto state lawmakers. The administrators told them that if they had concerns about school violence, they should become “activists” at the state Capitol, which was at the time embroiled in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gun-control-protesters-show-up-in-tennessee-as-public-safety-special-session-begins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debate over gun restrictions</a>.
Parents say handling of the incident sent the message that the top priority isn&#8217;t stopping school shootings, but rather pushing gun restrictions. They fear that the school was willing to put parents through a nightmare in order to get them to join with left-wing activists protesting in Nashville.
“They just told us you need to get in touch with your reps so you can change the law,&#8221; said Natalie Johnson, whose child was on the hit list. &#8220;Gun laws are not going to affect kids who are not supposed to have guns anyway. It’s sad that our kids are being used as pawns.&#8221;
The state has long given school districts tools to respond to students threatening mass violence&#8211;but Giles County Public Schools didn&#8217;t use them. While state lawmakers this summer were considering adding a “red flag” law that would flag people with questionable backgrounds to prevent them from buying guns, there is already a system in place to flag students who could pose a threat of violence so schools can keep an eye on them. The school system won’t explain why it apparently failed, with the district saying the high school wasn&#8217;t aware of the student&#8217;s recent disciplinary record.
As Riley pressed the school for answers, the school system directed her to its outside attorney, Tim Underwood. Riley and her husband asked him how their child was being kept safe, but the attorney &#8220;kept wanting to bring in gun rights.&#8221;
&#8220;If I had it my way there’d be more gun restrictions,” the lawyer told them, she recalled.
&#8220;The school wanted to look at us and say, &#8216;Our hands are tied and you’ll have to take it to Capitol Hill.&#8217; It&#8217;s about pushing their own agenda,” she said. “’Activism. Where’s your activism?’” she says she heard over and over again.
“My husband said, &#8216;Last time I checked a 14-year old can&#8217;t buy a gun already,&#8217;” Riley said. “I don’t know why [Underwood] even brought politics into it, my husband was like this was so irrelevant.”
After the culprit returned to school, he immediately began engaging in violence again. He punched the child of Caleb Slagle, who learned of the backstory and began pressing school superintendent Vickie Beard on the issue.
Seemingly struggling to explain how the Republican-controlled statehouse had anything to do with the situation, Beard appears to have invented an explanation, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Tennessee law does not authorize or allow expulsion of students from public schools,&#8221; Beard told Slagle in an email. &#8220;Tennessee law does allow suspension of students for a calendar year or up to 180 days for zero-tolerance offenses. Due to Constitutional and privacy rights, we cannot discuss specifics.&#8221;
None of that is true.  The <a href="https://tsba.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Student-Discipline-Guide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee School Board Association</a>, which Beard says she consulted, makes clear that “zero-tolerance offenses require [suspension] for not less than one calendar year” and local school boards may deem any offense a “zero-tolerance offense.”
Longstanding <a href="https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r76/gov.tn.tca.title.49.html#t49c06s49-6-3401ol1g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee code</a> states that regardless of whether an infraction is “zero-tolerance,” school officials can set a suspension to be any length they want. The ability to expel students is also laid out in state law.
<div id="attachment_641421" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-641421" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-641421" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/code-1024x202.png" alt="Tennessee state code" width="1024" height="202" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/code-1024x202.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/code-300x59.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/code-768x152.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/code.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Tennessee state code</div>
The Tennessee General Assembly’s Office of Legal Services confirmed that reading to The Daily Wire, stating that &#8220;Tennessee Code Annotated did not limit the length of punishment for a student who threatened mass violence against others at a school.” In July, a new law went into effect that requires districts to suspend a student for a year or more for threats of mass violence, but schools always had the authority to suspend them for longer, the office explained.
Internal emails obtained by The Daily Wire under the Freedom of Information Act show that after Slagle wrote to county and school officials, County Executive Graham Stowe replied privately to fellow officials that there were not any state laws tying the schools&#8217; hands, and it was a matter of school policy.
&#8220;There are no statutes providing any guidance in matters like this, so the decision to retain this student resides w/ the Schools,&#8221; he wrote, adding that he had also discussed it with a state lawmaker. &#8220;Given that allowing this student to return to class was a policy decision, I asked Dr. Beard to take the lead in responding to Mr. Slagle.&#8221;
Beard then did so by telling Slagle the opposite: that state laws tied the school district&#8217;s hands on punishment.
<div id="attachment_632151" style="width: 490px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-632151" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-632151" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/beard-square.jpg" alt="Vickie Beard, superintendent of Giles County, TN schools" width="480" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/beard-square.jpg 480w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/beard-square-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/beard-square-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" />Vickie Beard, superintendent of Giles County, TN schools</div>
Slagle, whose son was attacked, became a thorn in the school system’s side with his relentless push for an explanation. He told officials that if the issue was that state law prevented it from suspending him for more than a year for his 2022 threat to shoot up the school, it could use the assault on his son to remove him from the school now. But Slagle was told that if he wanted to go down that road, they would arrest his son too, for punching back.
Parents of students who testified during the court process were among the only ones who realized that their children may be sitting ducks, because from the beginning, the school district concealed from parents that their children&#8217;s lives may have been in danger, according to the materials obtained under FOIA.
The only communication about the incident from administrators came through a vague 15-second voicemail message drafted by Beard: “Hello parents! We are aware of a rumor that may be circulating regarding some inappropriate comments. This situation has been investigated and proper authorities are involved and assisting in this matter. Thank you and have a great evening!”
But it wasn’t a rumor about inappropriate comments. The culprit was charged with five counts of threats of mass violence on school property, as well as one count of harassment, The Daily Wire learned.
Riley said she called the school district this summer to ensure the culprit wouldn’t be matriculating at the high school alongside witnesses, but the district ignored her. On the first day of school, her son texted her that the boy was there, and she immediately picked him up.
The principal told Riley that he was unaware of the student&#8217;s background — even though Riley had reminded the district in advance — and that her son could have an excused absence for his safety. But when she met with the school resource officer days later, she learned that the principal still hadn’t even told security the student’s name, she said.
Riley enrolled her son in an out-of-district school at considerable personal cost.
When numerous others withdrew their kids from the school, fearing for their lives, it became clear that it would be the subject of controversy at a school board meeting August 17. The school board, perhaps anticipation of the impending uproar, used a parliamentary maneuver to remove the usual public-comment portion of the meeting. Discussion was limited to matters such as what it should do with an old Xerox machine, according to <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KnCkXuw3YhxawN1ew_o1V-UYjRGg7eT_CPfoSEigfXM/edit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting minutes</a>.
Giles County School Board members and superintendent Beard ignored repeated questions from The Daily Wire.
Captain Joe Purvis of the Giles County Sheriff’s Office said there were policy failures. Tennessee has a system designed to flag students with a serious history, &#8220;and they either didn’t use it or it was down at the time,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not trying to tell the school board what they should do, but I need my SROs to know when someone like this is in school,&#8221; Purvis said. &#8220;They&#8217;re talking about red flag laws all over the news, I&#8217;m not a believer in that necessarily but this seems like an opportunity for a red flag&#8221; on the student’s transcript, he said.
Though Beard claimed that the “Constitution” barred her from talking about the matter, Purvis said that while the name of a criminal who is a minor is normally secret, information necessary for parents to be informed about public safety is not.
Purvis said that prior to the school shooting threats, the culprit had also been arrested for an unrelated assault in school on May 17, 2021. He was suspended for the remainder of the school year, Purvis said — a brief 12 days.
It was near the end of the following school year, in April 2022, that he was charged with five counts of threats of mass violence on school property and one count of harassment, Purvis said.
District Attorney Brent Cooper declined to tell The Daily Wire if the student was convicted of those charges and what criminal punishment he faced, if any. As a minor, the court records are sealed.
Purvis said he understands the culprit attended a middle school across town the next school year. Both schools feed into Giles County High School. The school system refused to say what action it took against a would-be school shooter, even with no name attached.
While Beard falsely claimed that the district was forbidden from suspending anyone for more than a year, it’s unclear that he was even suspended for that long. If the culprit spent any time at an alternative school or juvenile detention, that would have presumably been apparent in transcripts available to his high school.
“It frustrates me to no end when people in government just won&#8217;t accept and acknowledge that they made a mistake. That’s all you gotta do,” Purvis said. “If I’ve got 20 other kids suffering, the greater good is to remove that kid. I don’t get it.&#8221;
Parents continue to live in fear that each morning when they send their children to school, they may not come home. Some are likely still under the false impression, fed to them by the school officials, that it’s because state law forbids the school from suspending him for longer.
“I can’t in good conscience leave my kid here. He’s no longer viewed as the &#8216;kid who was kind to me,&#8217; now he’s the &#8216;kid who turned me in,” said Riley. “He’s got the means, he’s got the motive, it’s just when’s it gonna happen.”

Nashville Shooting

Tennessee School Put Would-Be Shooter In Classroom, Told Parents To Become Left-Wing Activists If They Objected

Kids Who Testified Against A Would-Be School Shooter Now Find Themselves Sitting In Same Classroom

Education

Red States

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A special session of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee">Tennessee</a> General Assembly called by Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-lee">Bill Lee</a> to deal with “public safety” began on Monday as Left-leaning protesters gathered to push for more gun control.
The August 21 special session comes months after a transgender-identifying shooter killed six people at The Covenant School in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nashville">Nashville</a>, and Lee has advocated for a variation of a red flag law. In his proclamation earlier this month, Lee said that the session would deal with issues of mental health, gun storage guidelines, human trafficking, and “temporary mental health orders of protection.”
The first meeting of the Senate ended after about 20 minutes while the House session went on for almost two hours. Republican Senator Janice Bowling moved to the end the session saying that it there was no emergency that <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/21/live-updates-tennessee-legislature-special-session-public-safety-guns-starts/70618843007/">required</a> the extra meeting. Last week Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson said that red flag laws and any kind of order of protection laws had a zero percent chance of making it through during the special session.
Debate in the House focused on the rules, including debate on whether to adopt new disciplinary rules for members who cause disruptions.
During the debate, Democrat lawmakers claimed the rules were undemocratic and Rep. Justin Jones claimed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton was racist. Jones was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-gop-expels-democrat-following-state-capitol-storming">previously expelled</a> from the House for helping to lead a protest from the House floor that disrupted proceedings.
After 80 minutes of debate, the rules package passed 73-23. “These rules provide equality for 99 members who represent 7 million Tennesseans,” Republican Rep. Gino Bulso said. &#8220;If a member cannot conduct the member&#8217;s self with civility, they ought to sit down.&#8221;
Democrat Rep. Jeremy Pearson, another of the Democrats who was expelled for leading a protest from the House floor, said Republicans only offer thoughts and prayers after shootings. Pearson previously voted against a bipartisan bill that included school safety measures in the aftermath of the Covenant shooting.
Protesters chanted and screamed at Republican lawmakers as they left the House floor after the session was adjourned. Some protesters in and around the capitol building in Nashville held up signs like &#8220;we demand gun reform,&#8221; &#8220;protect kids not guns,&#8221; and &#8220;no more dead children.&#8221; Several groups were wearing shirts by the group Moms Demand Action and a group of Covenant mothers.
There were several people in attendance who opposed of red flag laws. Chavez Lopez, who works as an electrical engineer in Nashville, said that he was there to make his voice heard and support the Second Amendment. He told The Daily Wire he was disappointed that there were not more pro-Second Amendment protesters present.
Several members of the Nashville Young Republicans were also present at the capitol. &#8220;The Nashville Young Republicans are proud to stand with our leaders as they advocate for the safety of our communities across the state. Our Republican leadership needs our support as they continue to fight to ensure that gun rights are not curtailed in our state,&#8221; the Nashville Young Republicans told The Daily Wire after both the Senate and House had adjourned.

Nashville Students Hold Walkout To Demand Gun Safety In Wake Of School Shooting

Gun Control Protesters Show Up In Tennessee As ‘Public Safety’ Special Session Begins

Bill Lee

Gun Control

Tennessee Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-lee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Lee</a> has called a special session to deal with “public safety” as Democrats in the state push for more gun control. 
The August 21 special session will come months after a transgender-identifying shooter killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville, and Lee has advocated for a variation of a red flag law. In his <a href="https://tnsos.net/publications/proclamations/files/2517.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proclamation</a> this week, Lee said that the session would deal with issues of mental health, gun storage guidelines, human trafficking, and “temporary mental health orders of protection.” 
“As our nation faces evolving public safety threats, Tennessee remains vigilant and is taking continued action to protect communities while preserving the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens,” Lee <a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2023/8/8/gov--lee-issues-official-call--presents-legislative-priorities-ahead-of--public-safety-special-session.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. 
Republican leadership in the legislature has largely opposed any consideration of potential red flag legislation, while Lee’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-most-tennesseans-want-authorities-focusing-on-dangerous-people-not-guns-as-governor-pushes-order-of-protection-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">office has said</a> his proposal shouldn’t be considered a red flag proposal. 
“To be clear, the Governor does not support red flag laws. His proposal is different from any law across the country – it would strengthen Tennessee’s existing law around the order of protection process for cases of domestic violence and enhance support for law enforcement, ensure due process, require the highest burden of proof, and boost mental health support,” Press Secretary Jade Byers told The Daily Wire in June. 
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, both Republicans, have <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/tn-public-safety-special-session/?email=84885943124850418dccfffa5f984fb2b1450cf1&amp;emaila=6cb861e5998d3d6a1ce8452947dee058&amp;emailb=78504d1586e2066c8a05f4b619c2e64c552dbc337ec8d9ba2cb59caa7c91ecac&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Breaking%20News%20-%20WKRN%20-%20Breaking%20News%20-%20August%208%2C%202023%2C%2010:28%20pm%20UTC&amp;utm_content=breaking%20news&amp;utm_term=Breaking%20News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> that any red flag-style legislation would be a non-starter. 
“From a philosophical standpoint, I have always opposed what is commonly referred to as a red flag, order of protection bill, again, because I deem them to be ineffective,” Johnson said. “Certainly in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, known as the Bruen decision, I think they are constitutionally suspect at best, blatantly unconstitutional at worst.”
“As far as the enhanced orders of protection, red flag laws, yeah, you’re not going to see us go down that road,” Sexton said on Tuesday. 
Some Republicans have urged the release of the manifesto from The Covenant School shooter before the special session, while the Tennessee Executive Republican Committee has <a href="https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/aug/05/tennessee-gop-executive-committee-tfp/#:~:text=—%20Tennessee%20Republican%20State%20Executive%20Committee,despite%20most%20GOP%20leaders%27%20opposition." target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the session should be canceled. 
The announcement comes as Democrats in the state take a bus tour to talk about gun violence, making its final stop in Nashville as the session begins. 
“Since Republicans gained controlling power, the Tennessee General Assembly has loosened gun laws and abolished common sense gun safety reforms, such as mandatory gun safety classes and background checks for going armed, gun permits, and restrictions on carrying in many public places,” a <a href="https://tnsenatedems.medium.com/statewide-bus-tour-to-end-gun-violence-rolls-towards-special-session-525c7101f67a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from the Democratic Senate caucus said. 
Conservative groups in the state have vocally opposed any move toward red flag laws.
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“Governor Lee’s <a href="https://tnsos.net/publications/proclamations/files/2517.pdf">proclamation</a> makes it abundantly clear that he is on board with the long standing calls from notable Democrats like Justin Jones and Joe Biden to enact gun control in Tennessee,” John Harris of the Tennessee Firearms Association <a href="https://tennesseefirearms.com/news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “Rather than just being candid and stating he wants a Red Flag law, Bill Lee urges for the passage of a &#8216;temporary mental health order of protection&#8217; as he did in April 2023 shortly after the Covenant School murders.”
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative policy and advocacy group, has previously urged Lee to cancel the special session and has vocally opposed red flag laws. In a statement following Lee’s proclamation, they pointed to aspects of the proclamation that would deal with human trafficking. 
“As we’ve noted before, while noting certain areas of disagreement on certain other issues, we’ve had very productive meetings with Governor Lee and his staff on this issue, making a mutual commitment to work together in the furtherance of destroying child and human trafficking,” a statement from the group said.

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