Nashville Shooter's Unredacted Manifesto Delivered to Judge, Public to Get Chance to Speak Up: Report
A legal battle over a manifesto written by The Covenant School shooter could be brewing.
An unredacted copy of the document, along with a copy with proposed redactions, was delivered to the Davidson County Chancellor’s chambers for a judge to review, according to WZTV.
The manifesto was authored by mass murderer Audrey Hale.
Hale, who professed a transgender identity, killed three children and three employees of the Christian school in the March 27 mass shooting.
The circumstances of the attack have led many to identify Hale’s actions as a hate crime against Christians — a theory that could be corroborated by the manifesto’s release.
Hale was killed by police officers responding to the shooting.
Community members have called for the document’s full, unaltered release — but it’s yet to be released to the public.
The release of the manifesto has been hotly debated since it was found at the home of Audrey Hale, 28, who killed three children and three school workers at Covenant Christian Academy before being shot dead by police.
Many conservatives have argued the manifesto should be made… pic.twitter.com/hBqCOsEFA8
— David Croom – (ツ) (@dailycallout) May 14, 2023
Tennessee officials such as Gov. Bill Lee have called for the manifesto’s release, according to WSMV-TV.
The Covenant shooting was a tragedy beyond comprehension, & Tennesseans need clarity.
We’ve been in touch with the Nashville Police Department, & today, Chief Drake assured me that documents & information regarding the shooter will be released to the public very soon.
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) April 28, 2023
Both the FBI and local law enforcement have access to the document.
A representative for the Metro Nashville Police Department indicated that the manifesto was undergoing review for public release in late April.
However, the agency reversed course after that announcement, citing pending litigation in declining to provide a timeframe for the document’s release, according to the New York Post.
Former Hamilton County Sheriff James Hammond and the Tennessee Firearms Association are among the entities suing for the manifesto’s release.
A chancery court judge and attorneys for the city are set to discuss the potential release of the document in a Wednesday status hearing, according to WZTV.
Members of the public will have the option to comment on the document’s potential release in a June 8 hearing.
Investigators haven’t publicly identified a motive underlying Hale’s crime.
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