Tag: tennessee

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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Human heart found in Tennessee salt pile, authorities say

A human heart was found in a salt pile at a Tennessee Department of Transportation facility, according to authorities.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, a worker with the Tennessee Department of Transportation discovered the adult male human heart in a salt pile at the facility, which is located off Highway 70 East in Nashville.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has joined the investigation for examination and testing.

“At the request of 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Ray Crouch, TBI special agents are working along with deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office, in investigating the discovery of a human heart in a TDOT salt facility in McEwen Thursday,” the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation noted in a statement. “An initial examination of the heart determined that it was that of an adult male. Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine its origin.”

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Are Game Wardens Watching You? – Part 1: The Case of the Hidden Trail Camera

Imagine you go hunting one morning, on your own land, and you find a cellular trail camera that isn’t yours. Now imagine that the camera was obviously placed in such a way as to be entirely hidden from you—except for a hole cut through the brush so that it could surveil the comings and goings on your property.

You’d probably be creeped out and pull that camera down, right? That’s what Hunter Hollingsworth of Camden, Tennessee, did when he spotted an unknown trail camera pointed toward the gravel road through his family farm.

Then a few months later, he found his home surrounded by armed law-enforcement officers who threatened to kick his door down if he didn’t let them inside to search for the camera. This was just the beginning of a series of events that snowballed into a lawsuit that would eventually put a national spotlight on the near century-old practice of game wardens entering private land without a search warrant. The case would go on to fundamentally change how officers with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are able to do their jobs—and it could set precedents for similar cases in other states, too.

But no matter where you live and hunt, the Hunter Hollingsworth case—and the cases it continues to inspire—could ultimately decide whether you might one day find a camera hidden in your trees, or a game warden on your property without a warrant.

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2nd Dead Democrat Wins Election by Landslide

A second dead Democrat candidate has stormed to victory with a landslide win in their election.

Tennessee state Rep. Barbara Cooper, a Democrat, died on October 25 at the age of 93, two weeks before Election Day.

According to WATN, election officials were unable to remove Cooper’s name from the ballot following her “unexpected” death.

Despite her well-publicized death, Democrat Cooper crushed her opponent, independent Michael Porter, by 7,999 votes to 2,942, according to WHBQ.

Cooper had represented the 86th state House district for 26 years, according to WSMV.

Officials argue that people voted for Copper on Election Day because they were unaware of her passing, despite apparently being her supporters.

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FBI Arrests Tennessee Republican Lawmaker, Former Chief of Staff Over Alleged Bribery and Kickback Conspiracy

The FBI announced the arrest of a Republican Tennessee lawmaker and his former chief of staff. The arrests were made Tuesday morning following indictments charging the two with participating in a bribery and kickback scheme.

Republican State Rep. Glen Casada and Cade Cothren, 35, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Monday. They are accused of coordinating a fake constituent mailing program designed to “enrich themselves,” according to the Justice Department.

According to Fox News, FBI agents arrested Casada and Cothren at their respective homes on Tuesday morning. 

Casada and Cothren will both make their initial appearances before a U.S. magistrate judge within 24 hours.

Fox reports that “the 20-count indictment comes following a monthslong federal corruption investigation and represents the first time a current or former Tennessee speaker of the House has been indicted.”

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