Slings and Arrows and Nooses
🎯 Kristi Noem targets Nashville Mayor · The noose at Nissan · Jones gets the boot... again · Who runs the East Bank · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Kristi Noem lobbed some insults at the mayor on Friday… They found a “noose” at Nissan Stadium, which ground work to a halt… Justin Jones got bounced from a press conference… Cameron Sexton wonders who’s really in charge of the East Bank.
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At a press conference in Nashville on Friday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem took aim at Mayor O’Connell, calling him an “open-borders politician” whose “shameful” and “reckless” moves are obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
She faulted O’Connell for “openly doxxing” ICE and HSI agents by posting their identities online and for ordering Metro employees to report every encounter with immigration officials—steps she said create an early-warning system that helps criminal migrants elude arrest.
“By his rhetoric and by what he is requiring his city employees to do, and by not having the backs of these ICE officers, he is allowing more children to be trafficked, more children to be victimized and more families to suffer,” Noem said, adding that the mayor needs to “grow up” and “doesn’t deserve to be in office.”
Barbs thrown at O’Connell aside, the press conference was held for the purpose of “exposing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Tennessee.” Noem blamed rhetoric against ICE agents for the 830 percent increase in attacks on federal law enforcement. She also praised the Nashville outpost at which the conference was held for its excellent work in detangling human trafficking operations.
Many of the questions from journalists focused on why the DHS does not release the names of those that ICE detains and deports. Noem claimed that the department releases names when it is permitted by law. Other questions involved the case being heard against El Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia in Nashville, about which Noem promised that, as more details of the case become available to the public, it will become clear that Garcia doesn’t deserve a spot in this country.
Outside the building, about a dozen aged protestors gathered to chant, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE” and similarly goofy slogans. DAVIS HUNT
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🚧 Sexton Threatens To Revise East Bank Authority On Friday, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he’s looking into introducing legislation that would change the power structure of the East Bank Authority. “We thought we drafted something that said the Authority’s in charge,” he said on NewsChannel 5's Inside Politics. “When the mayor has his picks on the board…the Authority should have some authority.”
If you’ve been paying attention to East Bank Development Authority meetings, it’s obvious that a power struggle has been brewing between the State and Metro. During the Authority's last meeting in June, Sexton, who serves as a board member, fired off a series of questions trying to determine who, exactly, has decision-making power regarding the development. It quickly became clear that as long as Metro is funding the Authority's operating budget, they’re running the show. “It seems like we're somewhat in a disagreement on exactly how much authority each part has,” Sexton concluded.
During Friday’s interview, Sexton also criticized Metro’s misleading messaging regarding its relationship with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. TPAC and Metro have been struggling to agree on a plan to relocate the center to the East Bank. Sexton says it seems like Metro is trying to push TPAC out.
“We've had conversations now for almost two years and every time we have a conversation, Metro tells me 'Oh, it's really going well,' only to find out three months later, it's not," he said, before explaining the high demands Metro is putting on TPAC. "They are trying to make TPAC pay for a new bridge across the waterway," he continued. “If you don't want TPAC there just tell us, but the clock is running out and that's a huge investment by the state.”
🏟️ Noose At Nissan Construction was halted at the new Nissan Stadium after a noose was discovered on the site Friday morning. The Metro Nashville Police Department has confirmed that it is investigating the incident. According to News 4, posters seeking information have been set up at the construction site.
Both Mayor Freddie O’Connell and the Tennessee Builders Alliance have categorized the incident as a potential hate crime. “This week, a racist and hateful symbol was discovered on our site,” the Alliance wrote in a release. “There is no place for hate or racism in our workplace.” O’Connell said Metro has taken steps to “prevent scenarios that might be fear or hate-based.” Counseling services and anti-bias training are being offered to every person on site, “and work will resume only after a site-wide standdown focused on inclusion and respect.”
Similar incidents, still fresh in the public consciousness, create an unfortunate amount of skepticism when officials are eager to categorize such occurrences as hate crimes so quickly. From the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax in 2019 to the alleged noose incident at Talladega Superspeedway in 2020 that ended up being a garage door pull rope, investigations run the risk of falling short of initial foregone conclusions. That said, the Tennessee Builders Alliance is offering a $250,000 reward for any information regarding the Nissan Stadium incident.
🧊 Jones Iced Out Of DHS Presser Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones was turned away after trying to attend a news conference with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Nashville last week. According to Jones, he was eager to “ask her questions about the people kidnapped in Nashville by masked, unidentified ICE agents.”
During an exchange with authorities on site, Jones said, “I’ve never been racially profiled before, I just want to understand why I’m being racially profiled.” He was then informed that he wasn’t being racially profiled – he just wasn’t allowed at the news conference.
“There was no disruption, there was no reason to kick me out, only cowardice and secrecy from a woman wasting taxpayer dollars on photo ops and dodging accountability for her horrific actions,” Jones later posted on social media. He continued by scoffing at Noem’s resistance to supporting bipartisan relations: “This is another sad day for our democracy, and shows how unwilling this administration is to engage in transparency and bipartisanship.”
DEVELOPMENT
- Sports Illustrated Resorts plans Music Row location for Nashville debut (NBJ)
- Boutique wealth management firm relocates to Hillsboro Village (Post)
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).