Tag: tennessee

Tennessee Alcohol Wholesalers Are Grabbing Control of the State’s Hemp Market

Few things are more difficult to eradicate in our system of modern governance than a government-sanctioned monopoly or oligopoly. A recently passed bill in Tennessee, which will allow the state’s alcohol wholesalers to take over hemp distribution in the state, shows that these monopolies are not only difficult to eliminate but also often attempt to expand their reach.    

The new law sets up a distribution system for hemp—which was legalized at the federal level in the 2018 Farm Bill—that mirrors the notorious three-tier system for alcohol distribution, which requires producers, wholesalers, and retailers to be legally separate entities. The three-tier system restricts producers and suppliers from selling directly to their customers and mandates that they work through a wholesaler to reach the market. This allows wholesalers to operate as functional monopolies or oligopolies in certain parts of states where only one or two wholesalers operate.

The law, which takes effect on January 1, 2026, also requires all wholesalers and retailers of hemp products to maintain a physical presence within the state. Out-of-state hemp suppliers will be prohibited from engaging in direct-to-consumer shipping to customers in Tennessee, and instead will be forced to work through the state’s wholesaler and retailer tiers. While in-state Tennessee hemp suppliers cannot ship their products to Tennesseans either, they are able to sell on-site directly to their customers, providing a workaround to avoid the three-tier system.

Cornbread Hemp, a Kentucky hemp supplier that recorded $1 million in Tennessee-based sales last year, is challenging the new law in federal court. Cornbread Hemp argues that Tennessee’s law unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state competitors in favor of in-state businesses, which is a violation of the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause.

Supreme Court observers will recognize how closely the case mirrors Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas (2019). In the case, the majority struck down Tennessee’s requirement that applicants for alcohol wholesaling or retailing licenses must have resided in the state for over two years, finding it to be unconstitutional discrimination against out-of-state economic interests.

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UT-Battelle to pay $2.8 million in COVID-19 vaccine requirement settlement

UT-Battelle agreed to pay more than $2.8 million to employees after a lawsuit over COVID-19 vaccine requirements, said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

UT-Battelle is the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. During its investigation, EEOC said it found reasonable cause to believe that UT-Battelle had discriminated against ORNL employees by denying them religious accommodations from the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. This would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, EEOC said.

“I am grateful for the field’s hard work in this investigation, and UT-Battelle’s commitment to voluntarily rectifying its alleged Title VII violations by compensating its employees and agreeing to injunctive relief is commendable,” said EEOC Acting Chair Lucas. “While COVID-19 vaccine mandates were a novelty, our long-standing civil rights laws remain unchanged — absent an undue hardship, employers must provide a reasonable accommodation to its employees for their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Per the agreement, UT-Battelle will provide back pay and compensatory damages to those affected and train its human resources personnel on religious accommodation requests.

“UT-Battelle has always respected the religious beliefs and practices of its employees,” said Stephen Streiffer, president and CEO of UT-Battelle. “The COVID-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to protect staff members’ health and safety while they worked together to keep the lab open. During unprecedented times, their dedication allowed us to continue fulfilling our national missions, including the production of medical isotopes to fight cancer and support national security. We appreciate the assistance of the EEOC in resolving these disputes, which allows us to move forward fully focused on our work for the nation.”

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Conservative Pro-Debate Group Kicked Off Campus At Tennessee State University

A pro Debate conservative group known as “Fearless Debates” was kicked off campus at Tennessee State University as reported by Campus Reform.

In a widely viewed video on social media a man wearing a MAGA hat is seen being yelled at by students.

Later on an angry riot broke out with people throwing things at debaters Cam Higby and David Khait’s vehicle.

The students rioting also shouted Black power at the Cam and David.

The “Fearless Debates” posted on Instagram that the group was tabling at Tennessee State University was the first historically Black University they were visiting on this tour named Fearless Tour.

These debaters just wished to have a respectful exchange of ideas but sadly on many liberal campuses this is no longer accepted.

The signs they used to promote discussion stated “DEI should be illegal” as well as “Deport all illegals now! Lets talk!”.

According to News Channel 5 “Fearless Debates” said “they had come to create conversation and discourse.” They were eventually kicked off campus.

The university stated “The safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff remain our highest priority. TSU will continue to uphold university policies and ensure that campus remains a safe, welcoming and orderly environment for all members of our community.”

The NAACP claimed this free speech group had sought to “antagonize, disrupt, and instill fear in a space created to be safe, affirming, and supportive of Black students.”

College was originally meant to be a place of different ideas and debates but apparently The NAACP doesn’t  agree with exposing students to different ideas.

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Unhinged Democrats Claim Moving To A Small Town To Raise Your Kids And Bring In Jobs Makes You A White Supremacist

Ninety minutes from the noise and congestion of Nashville, nestled in the quiet hills and secluded hollers of the Upper Cumberland, sits historic Gainesboro, Tennessee. A town of about one thousand people in a county of more than 12,000, Gainesboro is like many bucolic little towns in this region: peaceful, safe, almost like taking a time machine back to the ’90s in all the best ways. These attributes drove me to move my family and my real estate business here after years in urban hubs.

Having grown up just down the Cumberland River in rural Trousdale County, the last thing I expected to encounter after moving to Jackson County was an organized, resourced, and aggressive progressive faction attempting to make inroads into the community.

If I stumbled onto a network like this in my small town, it could be happening in your small town too.

If you followed the Nashville press last year, you probably saw the storyline. NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams ran a series about “Christian nationalists” coming to rural Jackson County, replete with ominous music and interviews cherrypicked to stoke fear.

I run a rural real-estate company. We buy old properties, fix them up, and invite customers to rediscover small-town life. Yet in that initial media onslaught, my company was presented as a caricature (“Menace arrives in Mayberry!”). We don’t blame any good faith locals who initially fell for it — big-city camera crews are disruptive in many ways. But we do blame the well-oiled operation behind it all.

These reports targeted two of my customers who have a right-wing political talk show. They’ve never spoken on behalf of my company, RidgeRunner, but the Nashville reporter attempted to paint their political commentary as somehow defining how our company runs its business. Along the way, Williams made numerous factual errors: calling us a “Christian nationalist developer,” which we aren’t; erroneously labeling us as “an out of state developer,” which is ironic given his reporting about our company’s headquarters in Gainesboro (not to mention my Tennessee roots).

Whatever you think of the customers featured in the report, the motive of the reporting was obvious — baselessly tar newcomers (and anyone near them) as misogynists, racists, fascists, and use other typical smears from corporate media. Of course, all these accusations couldn’t be farther from the truth. And they weren’t harmless lies. In the aftermath of the TV reporting, the customers that Williams targeted received credible death threats from Antifa types out of Nashville. Some of my employees, customers, and I had our addresses doxxed by liberals in local Facebook groups.  

Many locals saw right through it, but some people were scared. And most of all, the Nashville audience enjoyed having all their priors confirmed about the “scary,” “backward” rural heart of Tennessee.

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Trump Deploys National Guard to Memphis, U.S. Military Lawyer Weighs in on Legality

President Trump announced he will deploy the National Guard to Memphis, calling the city “deeply troubled.” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, a Democrat, urged the administration not to send troops and said he may pursue legal action. “We will do everything in our power to prevent this incursion into Tennessee and to protect the rights, safety, and dignity of every resident,” Harris declared.

Crime has been rampant in U.S. cities, especially under Democrat leadership in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, Boston, and New York. Officials in these cities have been accused of manipulating statistics to suggest crime is at historic lows, downgrading offenses, releasing illegal immigrants without bail, and only counting convictions, even though many offenders never returned for trial.

Harris has made similar claims, insisting crime in Memphis is at a multiyear low, though the city remains among the most dangerous in the country. Across large and mid-sized cities, crime is rising, yet Democrat leaders refuse to address it. In response, Trump has deployed the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles, federalized the police in Washington D.C., and pledged to act in other cities.

John Deaton, a U.S. Marine veteran, trial attorney, and author, explained in an interview with The Gateway Pundit the legality of such actions. “In D.C., where President Trump authorized the National Guard, it’s been federalized. Federal law governs D.C., and the commander in chief has that authority pretty much carte blanche for 30 days. After that, Congress must authorize it, unless the president declares an emergency.”

Outside Washington, the rules are different. Deaton noted that when Trump sent Marines to California, they had a limited mission: protecting federal officers, ICE agents, and federal property. “That was completely appropriate because there was a threat,” he said.

He also pointed to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits active-duty troops from day-to-day law enforcement. Soldiers cannot arrest suspects, investigate crimes, or act as police officers. Their role is confined to crowd control and guarding facilities and personnel.

“There are exceptions,” Deaton added. “If there is an invasion of a certain type, President Trump, for example, cited MS-13 flooding into certain cities, that constitutes an invasion, and he can use those mechanisms.”

President Trump has declared emergencies and deployed military forces at the U.S. southern border and in several cities, including Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Memphis.

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Liberal Federal Judge Lets 22-Year-Old “Transgender” Accused of Threatening to Kill Sen. Marsha Blackburn Walk Free

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes, a liberal federal appointee, has granted pretrial release to 22-year-old Penelope Convertino, who is accused of threatening to assassinate U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

According to The Tennessee Star, Penelope R. Convertino, who was reportedly born a male, allegedly left death threats against Senator Marsha Blackburn in a voicemail on May 30.

“My name is mother**ker and I’m gonna kill Marsha Blackburn,” the voicemail said. “I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV. She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she will not be a person. She will be a dead f**king body,” the voicemail stated.

(Disclaimer: The Gateway Pundit has not independently verified the claims regarding Convertino’s biological details reported by outside sources.)

According to the press release on August 30:

“Penelope R. Convertino, age 22, of Murfreesboro, has been charged by criminal complaint with making a threat to murder a federal official with the intent to impede, intimidate, and interfere with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn while she was engaged in the performance of her official duties, announced Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee.

“Our public officials should be able to do their jobs without receiving vile death threats,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “Threatening public officials with deadly violence cannot and will not be tolerated. We will not hesitate to hold those who make these kinds of violent threats accountable for their crimes.”

According to court documents, on Friday, May 30, 2025, a voice message was left on the voicemail for Senator Blackburn’s Nashville satellite Senate office. One of Senator Blackburn’s staff listened to the voicemail the following Monday. In it, the caller said, “My name is mother**ker and I’m gonna kill Marsha Blackburn. I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV. She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she will not be a person. She will be a dead f**king body.”

Convertino was arrested earlier today by FBI agents.

If convicted, Convertino faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.”

Instead of ensuring the safety of an elected official and her constituents, Judge Holmes ordered Convertino’s release, continuing a disturbing trend of leniency toward dangerous offenders with politically fashionable identities.

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Famed sheriff Buford Pusser who inspired Hollywood’s ‘Walking Tall’ actually murdered his wife, investigators now say

A late Tennessee sheriff who inspired a Hollywood movie about a law enforcement officer who took on organized crime killed his wife in 1967 and led people to believe she was murdered by his enemies, authorities in Tennessee said Friday.

The finding will likely shock many who grew up as Buford Pusser fans and watched the 1973 “Walking Tall” movie that immortalized him as a tough but fair sheriff with zero tolerance for crime, authorities said.

There is enough evidence that if then-McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser were alive today, prosecutors would present an indictment to the grand jury for the murder of Pauline Mullins Pusser, said Mark Davidson, the district attorney for Tennessee’s 25th judicial district.

Investigators also uncovered signs she suffered from domestic violence.

Prosecutors worked with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which began reexamining decades-old files on Pauline’s death in 2022 as part of its regular review of cold cases, agency director David Rausch said.

Agents found inconsistencies between Buford Pusser’s version of events and the physical evidence, received a tip about a potential murder weapon and exhumed Pauline’s body for an autopsy.

Authorities acknowledged the news may shock many who grew up as Buford Pusser’s fans and watched the 1973 “Walking Tall” movie he inspired or the 2004 remake.

Many officers joined law enforcement because of his story, Davidson said.

The sheriff died in a car crash seven years after his wife’s death.

“This case is not about tearing down a legend. It is about giving dignity and closure to Pauline and her family and ensuring that the truth is not buried with time,” Davidson said at a news conference streamed on Facebook.

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‘No rational reason’: Court strikes government restriction on customers who want to visit home-based businesses

The Court of Appeals of Tennessee, located in Nashville, has struck down a municipal ordinance that limited the number of customers who could visit a home-based business.

It is invalid because it discriminated based on the type business it was.

According to a report from the Institute for Justice, which fought on behalf of record producer Lij Shaw and hairstylist Pat Raynor, Nashville’s rule allowed the two only six client visits a day at their businesses.

And then the city came up with “invasive and burdensome requirements.”

However, other businesses based in homes, such as short-term rentals, home daycares, historic homes and more, were allowed to have 12 or more clients daily, “free from additional requirements.”

“This kind of arbitrary favoritism has no place under the Tennessee Constitution,” explained Paul Avelar, a lawyer for the IJ. “Lij and Pat have a constitutional right to use their homes to earn an honest living. But Nashville treats their home-based businesses worse than other, privileged, home-based businesses for no real reason.”

The lawsuit stems from the city’s 2017 attacks on the two businesses, in which it shut them down.

Then came COVD, and the city allowed them to have six client visits daily.

Now a unanimous ruling from Judges Frank Clement, Andy Bennett, and Jeffrey Usman agreed with the claims that the city had not offered good reasons for favoring some home business over others.

The ruling said, “Metro has offered no rational reason for the difference in treatment that is relevant to the purpose of the law.”

The case already has been to the state Supreme Court, which rejected a lower court’s dismissal and reinstated it for further opinions at the lower court level.

At first, the lower court claimed the limits were “constitutional because they were rationally related to the city’s interests in preserving the residential nature of neighborhoods.”

The appeals ruling noted that the city changed its code during the time period that the lawsuit was pending. But throughout the proceedings the city exempted short-term rentals, home-based daycares, historic buildings and such.

The case ended up addressing the city’s irrational decision to distinguish between different types of home-related businesses.

“Plaintiffs argued that there was no rational reason that was relevant to the purpose of the law for distinguishing between their businesses and the Exempt Businesses. In support, Plaintiffs produced evidence that their businesses had no more of an impact on the residential character of neighborhoods than the Exempt Businesses,” the ruling said.

The opinion noted the city didn’t even try to dispute that.

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“Belmont Bombshells” – The University’s Vast Extent Of Subversive Actions

Last week, The Tennessee Conservative reported on the breaking story of a Belmont University official caught on camera admitting to harboring illegal alien students and deliberately pushing DEI policies through crafty rebranding.

Now, while calling for a federal investigation into the school, Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles has released reports showing Belmont’s deception is deeper rooted than initially suspected.

In the undercover footage, Belmont’s Assistant Director of “Student Success and Flourishing” Jozef Lukey revealed the school knows they have “undocumented students” on campus and deliberately hides their information to better operate “in the shadows”. 

Lukey also admits that the absorption of the school’s DEI department into their Hope, Unity, and Belonging (HUB) Office in 2022 was simply a way to continue DEI practices without being “under the microscope.”

Congressman Andy Ogles was one of the first Tennessee officials to jump into action, announcing he had sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding an investigation and a revocation of all federal funds if necessary. 

But the Congressman hasn’t stopped there, releasing several “Belmont Bombshells” containing leaked emails and documents showing how “aggressively Belmont University’s administration is pushing DEI indoctrination behind the scenes”.

“Belmont Bombshell” #1 features an email from April asking university faculty to vote for a nominee to serve on the “Faculty Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee” for the next college academic year which will start in the fall of this year.

“Belmont claims to be a Christian university. DEI is a radically un-Christian, anti-truth ideology. This has no place in Tennessee. Stay tuned,” Ogles said.

“Belmont Bombshell #2” shows an official curriculum proposal form requiring faculty to write a “Diversity Impact Statement” to justify how any course proposals or revisions will, “include perspectives from diverse and/or historically underrepresented populations.” This means that any new or revised classes must be tailored to include DEI ideology or risk being rejected by the Belmont Provost.

While the form was dated for use in 2023, Ogles wrote that, “Belmont is allegedly still forcing professors to comply with this form,” and it is unlikely the school has greatly altered the document as more is revealed about the school’s determination to continue pressing DEI initiatives.

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HERE WE GO: Work on Site Halted, Police Launch Investigation After Noose Found at Construction Site of Tennessee Titans’ New Football Stadium

Here we go.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department is investigating after a noose was reportedly found at the construction site of a new football stadium for the Tennessee Titans.

New construction on the Nissan Stadium began last February.

Work on the construction site was halted last week after the Tennessee Builders Alliance discovered the noose.

“This week, a racist and hateful symbol was discovered on our site. There is no place for hate or racism in our workplace,” the Tennessee Builders Alliance said in a statement. “We reported the incident to law enforcement, suspended work, and launched an investigation.”

Sheriff Clarke wasn’t buying the story.

NBC News reported:

Police are investigating after a noose was found at the construction site of the Tennessee Titans’ new football stadium this week, a spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department said.

The Tennessee Builders Alliance reported finding the noose at the site of what is to be the new Nissan Stadium, police said. The police spokesperson could not say when the report was filed, just that it happened “this week.”

The Tennessee Builders Alliance and the Titans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that he appreciated the NFL team bringing the incident to his attention immediately, and said his office has taken steps “both in local policy and state policy to try to prevent hate incidents like this.”

The Nissan Stadium is scheduled to open in 2027.

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