Tag Archives: Memphis

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports: A controversy on campus weeks in the works is now over. Kyle Rittenhouse made his appearance at the University of Memphis (UofM) on Wednesday, March 21, 2024, and the event was derailed by outraged students. The UofM said Rittenhouse had the room booked from 7-9 p.m. but attendees there said that just before 8 p.m., his …

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports: A Shelby County commissioner told FOX13 on Friday that Nashville leaders are threatening to take away funding from Memphis and other Shelby County projects if the county commission decides to reinstate expelled state Rep. Justin J. Pearson. According to Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, leaders in Nashville threatened to pull state funding for projects in the …

The New York Times reports: As Tyre Nichols sat propped against a police car, bloodied, dazed and handcuffed after being beaten by a group of Memphis police officers, one of those officers took a picture of him and sent it to at least five people, the Memphis Police Department said in a document released by the state on Tuesday. The …

CNN reports: Lawmakers have invited the parents of Tyre Nichols and the man who disarmed a gunman in a Southern California mass shooting to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on February 7. Nichols’ death days after being beaten by police in Memphis on January 7 and the mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration in …

CNN reports: A day after the public release of video showing the horrific police beating of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis police department announced it is permanently deactivating the unit that five of the involved officers belonged to. The SCORPION unit, launched in 2021, was tasked with tackling rising crime in the city, but has been heavily criticized in the aftermath …

Politico reports: Capitol Police officials are beefing up security on the Hill amid heightened concerns over Friday’s expected release of reportedly brutal police footage from a traffic stop that led to the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn. The Capitol’s law enforcement entity is expected to increase its security posture as departments around the country gird for protests …

Via press release from the White House: Jill and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Tyre Nichols and the entire Memphis community. Tyre’s family deserves a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his death. As Americans grieve, the Department of Justice conducts its investigation, and state authorities continue their work, I join Tyre’s family in calling for …

NPR reports: Five former Memphis police officers have been indicted and jailed in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, who died days after a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Like Nichols, all of the fired officers are Black. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith each face several charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault, …

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: The 19-year-old police say is responsible for several shootings in Memphis Wednesday evening is in custody, bringing to an end a two-hours-plus crisis that left four people dead and three people injured. The rampage left parts of the city paralyzed, with restaurants on lock down, residents told to shelter in place and MATA bus service …

The Associated Press reports: A truck driver has been arrested after saying he would commit a mass shooting at a church in Memphis, Tennessee, authorities say in newly filed court records. Thomas Matthew McVicker was apprehended in Indianapolis before the plan could be carried out, according to court papers filed Monday. It’s the most recent case in a string of …

The Associated Press reports: The Republican-dominated House in Tennessee voted Tuesday to punish the city of Memphis for removing Confederate monuments by taking $250,000 away from the city that would have been used for a bicentennial celebration next year. The retaliation came in the form of passage of a last-minute amendment attached to the House appropriations bill that triggered heated …

USA Today reports: The city of Memphis sold two public parks containing Confederate monuments to a nonprofit Wednesday in a massive, months-in-the-planning operation to take the statues down overnight. The City Council unanimously approved the sale of Health Science Park, home of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, and its easement on Fourth Bluff Park, home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, …

 Via the Memphis NBC affiliate: Neighbors of Jacqueline Alexander are shocked any mother would beat her son for acting “too feminine and too gay.” According to police, Alexander punched her son in the face around 11 p.m. Tuesday at their home on Mt. Moriah Road. “No, that’s not right. I mean that’s her flesh and blood, her son,” said neighbor …

Perhaps unaware of its other meaning, perhaps not unaware, two men in Memphis are staging cancer fundraisers around the classic country fair game cornhole. “We just started playing the game cornhole,” Spurlin said. “It’s just a bean bag toss game. Then, we decided why not make some cornhole boards? My mother-in-law makes the bags for us.” That was the beginning …

Saying that they have no support on the Memphis City Council, the Tennessee Equality Project has withdrawn their proposed anti-discrimination ordinance which would have protected LGBT residents in hiring and promotion decisions. TEP members said it was clear the ordinance, which was scheduled for the second of three readings this afternoon, lacked support from the 13-member council and Wharton’s administration, …

Memphis city councilwoman Janis Fullilove is paying the price from God’s Gentle People™ for sponsoring an LGBT rights law. So far she’s received four telephoned death threats and the body of a dead cat tossed on her front lawn. Police think the threats are serious enough have increased patrols around her home to keep her safe. All four calls came …

Next month’s Tea Party Convention is falling apart over questions about where the money will go. Crazy-eyed Rep. Michele Bachmann has joined the list of those pulling out. Oh noes! Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has become the latest to pull out of a scheduled speaking gig at the controversial National Tea Party Convention next year. Like Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) …

Former Marine and DADT victim Tim Smith tells the Memphis local news that the destruction of the National Coming Out Day billboard with his image “feels like a personal attack.” The investigation into the vandalism continues. (Via – Pam’s House Blend)

A billboard marking next month’s National Coming Out Day was ripped down by Memphis vandals, leaving only the previous ad for a Patti LaBelle event visible. The Triangle Journal reports: The billboard, which contained a picture of community member Tim Smith dressed in his marine uniform proclaiming “I’m gay, and I defended your freedom,” was completely torn from the Clear …

According to the school board of Memphis, the principal who outed two gay students did nothing wrong. You may recall last week’s story in which the ACLU demanded that Hollis F. Price Middle High School Principal Daphne Beasley be reprimanded for her actions. According to the ACLU, Beasley included the two boys on a list she posted of students thought …