Reporter Who Exposed Nashville Shooter’s Manifesto Ordered to Court, Faces Potential Jail Sentence

People pay their respects at a makeshift memorial for victims at The Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville on March 28, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

A journalist could go to jail for failing to disclose his source to the government in obtaining the Nashville shooter manifesto, raising concerns by Tennessee officials over the state of press freedom and the public’s right to know.

Chancellor I’Ashea Myles of Davidson County, Tennessee, ordered Michael Patrick Leahy, editor and owner of the news website The Tennessee Star (TN Star), to address at a hearing on June 17 the reason that he should not be held in contempt over his publication’s use of the leaked documents related to Nashville shooter Audrey Hale.

The court said the hearing was necessary “to determine why the alleged publication of certain propertied documents by Petitioners Star Digital Media and Michael Leahy, as the Editor in Chief, does not violate the Orders of the Court subjecting them to contempt proceedings and sanctions.”

“I don’t watch the news, I don’t do my own investigation, it’s best that I have the attorneys come in and really let me know what is going on,” Chancellor Myles said during the hearing. “Depending on what I learn today from the parties, I will issue a separate ruling on what the next steps will be.”

The judge ultimately did not sanction Mr. Leahy with jail time on June 17.

“I just love the state of Tennessee. It’s a great state, and my family and I have lived here for 30 years. The people are kind, and the people are nice. The governance is just and measured,” Mr. Leahy told reporters after his court appearance. “We started The Tennessee Star so I could exercise my First Amendment rights. I think we have served the public well, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue to exercise our First Amendment rights.”

Mr. Leahy has said he obtained the shooter’s suicide note and other writings from an unnamed source close to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s (MNPD’s) investigation, while the police failed to make the documents public. TN Star, which is a party in the case, is asking for the documents to become a public record.

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly have sided with Mr. Leahy in the case.

“Freedom of the press is an important part of our nation and its founding. While this is an incredibly tragic and complex case, these documents should be made public along with any relevant medical and toxicology reports,” state Rep. Jeremy Faison told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

Mr. Faison has said the legislature would need to step in if it is found that the judiciary has overstepped its role.

“I will file legislation to do so if necessary,” he told The Epoch Times.

State Sen. Ken Yager has stated that he would sponsor Mr. Faison’s resolution in the Tennessee State Senate.

State Rep. Jason Zachary told The Epoch Times via email that the First Amendment protects Mr. Leahy and likewise suggested intervention by the legislature if necessary.

“The TN House Republicans are committed to defending the freedom of the press and are watching these proceedings closely,” he stated.

The Shooting

In the shooting, Ms. Hale, who identified as transgender and went by the name Aiden Hale, killed three 9-year-old children and three adults who worked at The Covenant School on the morning of March 27, 2023. Officers shot and killed Ms. Hale, a former student at the school, minutes after Covenant officials called 911.

In the subsequent search of Ms. Hale’s vehicle and home, the MNPD said it discovered voluminous writings, including diaries and drawings. In a statement, the MNPD said that Ms. Hale “documented, in journals, her planning over a period of months to commit mass murder at The Covenant School.”

Ms. Hale had inferred in an Instagram message to a friend just before the shooting that she had left the material intentionally to reveal her motive in the killings, writing: “One day this will make more sense. I’ve left more than enough evidence behind.”

Police seized the materials, which included seven journals found under her bed, 11 home videos discovered under the family’s basement stairs, and two additional journals and a suicide note left in her desk, according to a search warrant released by the MNPD.

The MNPD refrained from announcing a possible motive for the attack, prompting months of speculation.

In past mass shootings in which the perpetrator has been caught or killed, the government has typically released writings and related evidence within two or three days of the incident. However, the contents of the seized Nashville shooter’s writings have not been released to the public, even in redacted form.

The Tennessee Public Records Act, passed in 1957, was intended to guarantee that people were given access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Tennessee “promptly,” according to the Municipal Technical Advisory Service Institute for Public Service.

In the weeks following the tragedy, officials assured members of the news media that the writings would be handed over, and law enforcement appeared to acknowledge an obligation to turn over evidence related to the case. In April 2023, the MNPD told The Epoch Times that it was “in the process of going through the writings” and “that they can and will be released publicly.”

Attorneys for Mr. Leahy are alleging that in attempting to suppress the Nashville shooter’s documents from the public, authorities are bypassing important legal restraints.

In an emergency June 12 court filing, attorneys representing the TN Star and Mr. Leahy argued that his sharing of the manifesto was protected by Tennessee shield laws, citing Tennessee Code 24-1-208(a), which states:

“A person engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast connected with or employed by the news media or press, or who is independently engaged in gathering information for publication or broadcast, shall not be required by a court, a grand jury, the general assembly, or any administrative body, to disclose before the general assembly or any Tennessee court, grand jury, agency, department, or commission any information or the source of any information procured for publication or broadcast.”

The MNPD refused to respond to several requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.