Court Blocks Prosecution Of TN Pride Event Over Drag

Knoxville’s NBC affiliate reports:

U.S. District Court Judge J. Ronnie Greer issued a ruling blocking Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond from enforcing Tennessee’s “Adult Entertainment Act,” at a festival celebrating the Blount County LGBTQ+ community on Saturday.

Greer’s order said Desmond cannot enforce, detain, arrest or seek warrants to enforce the act and cannot interfere with Blount Pride’s festival.

District Attorney General Desmond sent a letter to Blount Pride arguing Blount Pride was “marketing itself in a manner which raises concerns that the event may violate certain criminal statutes within the State of Tennessee.” His office would prosecute violations of the Adult Entertainment Act, Desmond wrote.

Read the full article. A separate court had already blocked enforcement of the anti-drag law, but Desmond had claimed the ruling was only specific to the jurisdiction in which it was issued.