A Nashville judge has received an unredacted copy of a manifesto written by a shooter who killed three 9-year-olds and three adults during a shooting at a Christian school in March. The manifesto, found at the residence of 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who was later shot dead by police, has sparked a controversial debate over its release to the public.
Nashville police have since announced they will release the manifest recovered from the car of the shooter involved in the attack at Covenant School in March.
Local authorities and the FBI, however, refrained from making the manifesto public. Its publication has been delayed several times, most recently due to pending litigation surrounding the document. However, on Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that an unredacted copy of the manifesto is now in the hands of a judge in Nashville.
The judge has received two versions of the manifesto for his review: one without any wording and another with wording proposals made by the city’s lawyers. The decision on whether to release the document to the public will ultimately rest with the judge.
Meanwhile, The Covenant School has taken legal action to prevent the publication of the manifesto. His lawyers argue that its publication could compromise the safety of the school, its staff and its students. The school filed a motion to intervene on Monday to seek protection from the potential risks associated with the publication of the manifesto.
This motion responds to separate lawsuits filed by the National Police Association (NPA) and the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA), both seeking public release of Audrey Hale’s writings. These lawsuits have effectively halted any further action by the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) until the legal matters are resolved.
There were a number of journalists who expressed concern about delaying the release of the shooter’s manifesto to the public.
“This makes no sense,” freelance journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote on Twitter. “Dozens of Tennesseans requested the release of the Nashville shooter’s manifesto under public records law. All were denied. The litigation happened because the PD would not voluntarily release it. Now they are using the lawsuit as an excuse to hide it.”
“Nashville PD: As a result of being sued for withholding the killer’s manifesto, we are going to withhold the killer’s manifesto,” commented Grabien’s Tom Elliot. “Remember we had the manifesto of the Buffalo killer hours after that atrocity,” he added.
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