Covenant hearing on leaked writings takes a turn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There was confusion in the courtroom Monday amid the ongoing legal battle about whether the Covenant School shooter’s writings will be released or not.
The hearing comes after a portion of the writings were published on the website of the Tennessee Star, a conservative online news organization. Davidson County Chancellor I’ashea Myles initially called a show-cause hearing, threatening contempt proceedings and sanctions following the leak.
📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →
However, on Monday she said the hearing was instead to understand the scope of what was published and if it should impact her ruling on the public records case.
“I don’t know what we were doing here, and I don’t know why we had to come in today. And I don’t know why, if we are no longer doing a show cause inquiry, which, candidly, should never have happened in the first place, I don’t know why, why this all happened,” first amendment lawyer Daniel Horwitz, who is representing the Star, told news crews following the hearing.
Both sides of the courtroom agreed that the two pages and quotes published in the Tennessee Star are a small portion of the writings, adding that the case is still a “live controversy.”
Several Covenant families were in the courtroom for the hearing, calling it a difficult couple of weeks.
Metro officer suggests department whistleblower leaked Covenant writings
“I think the important thing to focus on as Covenant parents is that the last couple of weeks have been very difficult for our families and we have shown up here in solidarity today to support our kids and our families to make sure that we’re going to protect them from anything that’s harmful or damaging, whether it comes out now or in the future,” Covenant father Stefan Banks said.
Chancellor Myles said that she was originally set to release her 60-page ruling on the public records case last Friday, but the leak delayed that.
Horwitz said that while the hearing wasn’t what he expected, it was encouraging.
“I don’t want reporters going to jail for doing lawful reporting. That’s that’s why we were here today. That’s what we were concerned about. A week ago, the court entered an order suggesting that there were going to be contempt proceedings, or sanctions for lawful reporting. That was concerning for I think, reasons that are probably everyone obvious to everyone in this room,” Horwitz said. “It seems like we have veered off a very dangerous road of threatening reporters for lawful report.”
⏩ Read today’s top stories on wkrn.com
The Star claims to have 80 pages of the writings. Following the hearing, the Star’s CEO said he wouldn’t take questions from reporters. However, he did make the following statement:
“I just love the state of Tennessee. It’s a great state and my family and I’ve lived here for 30 years. The people are kind, the people are nice. The governance is just in measured. We started the Tennessee Star so I could exercise my First Amendment rights. I think we have served the public well and we are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to exercise our First Amendment rights.”
Michael Patrick Leahy
The next steps will be determined by a ruling on Monday’s hearing.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
