Conservative Publisher Appeals Decision To Block Release Of Covenant Attacker’s Writings

 A conservative publisher has appealed a decision from a Tennessee judge to block the release of the writings of the transgender-identifying shooter who killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023.

The appeal, from Star News Digital Media and Tennessee Star Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy, was filed in the Tennessee Court of Appeals on Wednesday. Leahy is seeking to reverse a decision from Davidson County Judge I’Ashea Myles that said copyright claims put on the writings of the woman who attacked The Covenant School preempted public records requests. 

“We have appealed the very bad decision by TN Chancery Court Judge Myles to prohibit the release of the Covenant killer’s writings on the dubious claim of copyright ownership by intervenors. We will win on appeal,” Leahy said in a post on X. 

Last month, Myles sided with a group of Covenant parents who asserted a copyright claim onto the writings given to them by the shooter’s parents. The group had intervened to block the release of the writings after multiple parties sued the Nashville police department for access.

 

“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,” Myles wrote on July 4. 

The parties seeking access include Leahy, the Tennessee Firearms Association, The Tennessean, and the National Police Association. Leahy is being represented by  local lawyer Paul Krog and Nicholas Barry from the America First Legal Foundation. 

Earlier this year, police estimated they would release their investigative file by sometime in July, but that has not been done. It is unclear when the investigation will conclude.

Despite the judge’s ruling, portions of the writings have already been published by The Daily Wire and The Tennessee Star. Photos of the attacker’s journal published by The Daily Wire showed a woman who had been consumed by radical transgender theory and conveyed her anger at Christianity and her parents over their traditional views.

The Tennessee Star also sued the FBI for access to the attacker’s writings. A federal judge is currently reviewing that case.