Tag: tennessee

Tennessee to Pay $125,000 to Settle Lawsuit by Man Arrested for Posting Meme Mocking Dead Cop

The state of Tennessee will pay $125,000 to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed by a man who was arrested and jailed for nearly two weeks for posting a meme mocking a dead police officer.

Joshua Garton, 29, was arrested in January of 2021 and charged with harassment following a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) probe into a pseudonymous Facebook post that appeared to show two men urinating on the tombstone of an officer who was shot and killed in 2018. A judge dismissed the charges a month later, and Garton filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution, false arrest, and First Amendment retaliation.

In a settlement agreement filed earlier this month, two TBI agents and 23rd District Attorney General Ray Crouch did not admit any guilt, but they agreed to pay Garton to avoid further litigation costs.

“First Amendment retaliation is illegal, and law enforcement officials who arrest people for offending them will pay heavy consequences,” Daniel Horwitz, Garton’s lead attorney, said in a press release issued Monday. “Misbehaving government officials apologize with money, and Mr. Garton considers more than $10,000 per day that he was illegally incarcerated to be an acceptable apology.”

The TBI, Tennessee’s lead investigative law enforcement agency, launched an investigation into the offending Facebook post at the request of 23rd District Attorney Ray Crouch. Agents visited the officer’s gravesite and quickly surmised that the picture Garton posted was fake. It was in fact a doctored photo of the cover of “Pissing on Your Grave,” a single by The Rites, which originally depicted two men urinating on the tombstone of punk legend GG Allin.

Despite knowing that no one had physically desecrated the grave, the TBI continued its investigation, soliciting tips on Twitter about Garton’s identity. When it finally nabbed Garton, TBI put out a press release, complete with mugshot, announcing his arrest for “manufacturing and disseminating a harassing photograph on social media.”

As Reason wrote when Garton was first arrested, it was unclear how a dead person could be criminally harassed under Tennessee law, which requires that the subject be “frightened, intimidated or emotionally distressed.”

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Faith board member got $4.7M in TDOT work for firm formed days before Lee inauguration

A board member of Gov. Bill Lee’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, who filed to create a business three days before the governor’s 2019 inauguration, has landed $4.7 million in state contracts with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, contract records show. 

Aubrey Elizabeth “Libby” Phillips is the owner and founder of right-of-way mowing contractor, Big Al Mowing. Phillips holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Furman University, and prior to 2019 had no apparent experience in the mowing industry. 

Lee appointed Phillips — whose family contributed significantly to his 2018 gubernatorial bid — to the board of directors of his newly-formed Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2020. All six members of the volunteer board of directors for the office contributed to Lee’s 2018 campaign.

Lawmakers approved a $1.2 million budget for the faith-based office this year, the first direct allocation of tax dollars the office has received since its creation in 2019. The board is made up of Lee’s political allies and has final authority to approve how that funding is spent.

Phillips and her family members donated a total of $8,250 to Lee’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018. Her grandfather, insurance executive Al Phillips, and his wife, Jere, each maxed out personal donations toward Lee’s initial gubernatorial campaign, contributing a total of $8,000, while Phillips contributed $250.

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Inside The Bizarre Murder Of Blair Adams — And Why It Remains Unsolved Decades Later

Blair Adams’ trip to Tennessee made as much sense as the way he died – very little.

To his family and friends in British Columbia, Canada, Adams wasn’t himself, acting oddly, and displaying paranoid behavior. On Friday, July 5, 1996, Adams withdrew almost all the cash from his bank account and the entire contents of his safety deposit box. Believing someone wanted him dead, Adams fled to the United States.

Adams decided to enter the U.S. that day by attempting to drive onto a ferry from Victoria to Seattle, but he was denied entry by immigration officials for traveling with large amounts of cash and valuables, and for lying about his criminal history over drug and assault offenses.

Avoiding his own apartment, Adams left his mother’s home on July 8, and three days later, the premonitions of his own death came true on a construction site thousands of miles away.

This is the bizarre story of the unsolved murder of Blair Adams.

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‘Teacher of the month’ who likes to ‘build relationships’ with pupils charged in student sex assault case

A Tennessee high school teacher who’d been awarded “teacher of the month” has been charged with statutory rape after allegedly having sex with one of her students. 

Casey McGrath, a 28-year-old geometry teacher at Chattanooga Central High School, was suspended without pay in March after a months-long investigation into alleged “inappropriate physical contact with a student” WTVC reported.

She was indicted on Aug. 14 and charged with “unlawfully and knowingly engag[ing] in sexual penetration with a person of at least 13 years of age, but less than 18,” according to court documents obtained by Fox News.

The indictment noted that she is “at least 10 years older than the victim.”

McGrath was arrested on Aug. 18 and is out on release after posting a $10,000 bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Hamilton County Criminal Court on Sept. 6.

McGrath — who had also taught at nearby East Ridge Middle School, according to school records. She had recently been nominated by Central High School students as “teacher of the month,” according to an online article in the school’s newspaper that has since been taken down.

The teacher told a student reporter that her favorite part of the  day was “getting to interact with students and build relationships with them” — despite challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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High school student sues Tenn. school district after getting suspended for social media posts

A Tennessee high school student is suing a school district, saying the district violated his first amendment rights when administrators suspended him for posting three memes of his principal on Instagram.

One meme depicts the principal holding a box of fruit and vegetables with the words “my brotha” and “on god” over the screen. Another shows the principal as an anime cat and wearing a dress. Court papers say the third meme shows the principal’s head superimposed on a hand-drawn cartoon meant to resemble a character from the online game “Among Us,” with a cartoon bird clinging to his leg

Court papers say the student posted them to his personal Instagram account last summer joking about their Tullahoma City school principal.

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Video shows reinstated TN State Rep Justin Jones stopping cars and assaulting drivers in summer of 2020

Footage has been unearthed of disgraced Tennessee state representative Justin Jones stopping cars and assaulting drivers during summer protests outside of the state Capitol in 2020.

Jones had claimed at the time that the narrative that he was violent was false.

The footage proves otherwise.

“They will try to push a false narrative portraying me as “violent” as a way to deflect from their own actions. They will suggest that I am out of order. That is their strategy. However, I’m hopeful for the chance to present our evidence in a transparent manner.” Jones tweeted.

Local blog Scoop Nashville featured the violent footage in 2021, writing:

“In June of 2020, Justin Bautista-Jones, better known as ‘Brother Jones’ locally, was one of the publicly visible (often by design) protestors at the State Capitol. He received a lot of pushback from his own community after it was discovered he was often only making appearances when he knew there would be media coverage, and eventually had a falling out with one of the other most visible female members of the group.

“Throughout the entire time, he has faced over a dozen charges but always denied that he was violent – despite multiple assaults, assault on an officer, and reckless endangerment charges. In the newly obtained video, one of his assaults was captured, and presented to the Grand Jury – and he was indicted on two counts of reckless endangerment.”

On Monday afternoon, Jones, a Democrat who was expelled for leading an anti-gun protest into the storming of state Capitol last month, was reinstated to the House.

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Tennessee Democrat’s Transformation From College to Now Sparks Mockery on Social Media

Former Tennessee state Democratic Rep. Justin Pearson is facing criticism from conservatives for altering his voice and mannerisms while speaking publicly, which was made evident in unearthed footage from an election he took part in nearly a decade ago at Maine’s Bowdoin College.

A college campaign ad for Pearson’s successful bid for president of Bowdoin Student Government in 2016 showed a more casual Pearson who pushed for unity and understanding among his peers.

“I’m Justin J. Pearson, and I’m running for president of BSG,” Pearson said in the school campaign ad. “There are a few reasons why we’re running this campaign this year. One has to do with representation … How can we represent all voices in a conversation?”

Pearson said his efforts were meant to garner responses from both Democrats and Republicans on campus at the time.

“I wanna bring together different voices — dissenting voices, voices that may be more liberal or more conservative — in order that we can reach a point of, sort of, the radical middle,” he said in the campaign video.

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Republican Lt. Gov. Vows to Keep Thirsting Over Queer Instagram Nudes

A PERSON IS always wise to remember that Instagram likes and comments are public. But a 79-year-old man who likes what he sees is not always disposed to restrain himself, and it looks as though Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally is one such fellow.

As the Tennessee Holler first reported on Wednesday, McNally has for some time been a devoted fan of Franklyn McClur, a 20-year-old gay man who grew up in Knoxville and aspires to move to Los Angeles to make it in show business. McClur’s Instagram photos and captions are often suggestive in nature; he shows off his body, sometimes posing fully nude, and wears makeup. All pretty standard as far as the app goes. What’s unusual is that McNally has for months used his own verified account to unabashedly compliment McClur’s thirst traps — this while his state moves to criminalize drag shows and gender-affirming care for transgender children as part of the nationwide Republican push for laws targeting the LGBTQ community.

“Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!” McNally wrote, using McClur’s nickname, on a January photo in which the younger man shows off his butt in tight-fitting underwear. In a follow-up comment, he appended heart and flame emojis. Elsewhere, McNally has complimented McClur’s skimpy outfits and told him, “You need to be on dancing with the stars.” On a nude photo which McClur captioned “I Love being naked.. the Garden of Eden, is My Vibe. I Understand God,” McNally replied, “Great picture, Finn! Best wishes for continued health and happiness.”

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Tennessee Christian school principal indicted on 11 new child sex charges after 2022 arrest

The principal of a Christian school in Tennessee, who was arrested last year on accusations of sexual activity with a minor, has been indicted on 11 additional charges.

Liberty Christian School principal Jason Kennedy, 47, was already facing charges in connection with his alleged sexual activity with an underage girl. He was charged in August with two counts of sexual assault by an authority figure and one count of solicitation of a minor.

School secretary and homeschool coordinator Brittney Branham, 28, was also charged with solicitation of a minor in August over incidents that occurred in Kennedy’s home. It is unclear if she will face any new charges.

District Attorney Stephen Crump told FOX Chattanooga on Friday that the new charges Kennedy was indicted on represent three more victims, which means there are now four total victims in the case.

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NFL Pro Game gets full power as Tennessee residents suffer freezing temps and rolling blackouts

Residents in Tennessee were furious at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Sunday as the state suffered in a deep freeze and people were left cold on Christmas Day replete with rolling blackouts while the NFL’s Titans game against Houston was granted full power usage.

The temperature in Nashville on Sunday ranged from 16 to 30 degrees. The cold air put a significant strain on the TVA’s power grid and in response, the power authority implemented rolling blackouts in Memphis and Nashville. The Nashville Electric System (NES) also mandated reductions in power consumption just when it was needed most to keep residents warm. Over a million residents were told to limit the power they used to stay warm in freezing temps while millionaires cavorted on a football field for a billion-dollar enterprise.

As if the rolling blackouts and mandated limits weren’t bad enough, there were periods where there was no power at all during the below-freezing winter day.

The NFL allegedly got preferential treatment on power usage and was allowed to fully tap into mega-wattage for the game at Nissan Stadium. While a million residents shivered in their homes, 66,634 attendees luxuriated in buying tickets to a football game.

“I’ve been informed that TVA’s unilateral rolling blackouts will continue,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said after requesting that the game be postponed. “All non-essential businesses should reduce power usage. I’ve asked the Titans to postpone their noon game in solidarity with our neighbors. TVA needs to invest in infrastructure to withstand extreme temps.”

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