Judge blocks release of writings from Nashville Christian school shooter
For those who've been waiting for the writings of a transgender-identifying Tennessee school shooter to be released to the public, a recent decision meant bad news.
According to The Daily Wire, the shooter who took the lives of three children at a Nashville-based Christian school in March 2023 had a manifesto of writings that have been stuck in litigation since shortly after the tragic shooting.
Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles ruled recently that the writings were covered by the Copyright Act prior to the public's records request.
The Daily Wire noted:
In a ruling released at 11:58 p.m. local time, Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles said that copyright claims put on the writings of the woman who attacked The Covenant School preempted public records requests. Myles also sided with Metro Nashville Police, who have so far refused to release its investigative file on the shooting, citing an ongoing investigation.
The judge explained in the ruling how she decided whether or not to release the writings -- writings that many have requested in the wake of the shooting.
"Based upon Supremacy Clause and conflict preemption, the federal Copyright Act serves as a valid exemption to the Tennessee Public Records Act and thus preempts the disclosure of any original work of authorship in any form created by the assailant [shooter’s last name] which has been collected by Respondent Metro," the judge wrote.
The city of Nashville has been sued by multiple groups for the release of the writings.
Groups that have joined in on the legal action to obtain the writings for the public's consumption include "Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, The Tennessee Star, Republican state legislator Todd Gardenhire, and the National Police Association."
This judge blocked the release of the Nashville shooter's writings, citing copyright. Critical information is being withheld from the public. This is the state of our justice system.
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) July 5, 2024
The judge doubled down, ruling that while the investigation is ongoing, no further documents will be released to the public.
"The release of the remaining documents which are not original, derivative or compilation works created by the assailant is further constrained by the exceptions to disclosure set forth by the General Assembly,” the judge ruled, writing that, "during the pendency of this investigation and any legal proceedings thereafter, the investigative files of the police and materials therein are not available."
Last year, a few months after the shooting, Donald Trump Jr. presented his theory as to why the writings were being held back from the public.
"If the FBI continues to refuse to release the Nashville Trans Terrorist’s manifesto, the only conclusion we can make is that it is far worse than we could even imagine and that the threat of future attacks from this radical and growing group is greater than we thought!!!" Trump Jr. wrote on his X account.
Eventually, the writings will be made public, and it'll be fascinating to see how bad they truly are.