Tennessee

A Kansas man was charged with two hate crimes for threatening to attack a Nashville Pride event.

According to the charges, on April 26, 2023, the defendant posted comments on the social media account for Nashville Pride threatening to “make shrapnel pressure cooker bombs for this event.” In another comment posted the same day, the defendant threatened to “commit a mass shooting.”

These are serious allegations. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdtn/pr/kansas-man-facing-federal-charges-making-online-threats-toward-nashville-pride-event

A federal court sentenced a Tennessee man to seven years in prison for setting fire to four Nashville area churches.

According to evidence, the man intentionally set fire to the Crievewood United Methodist Church on June 17, 2019; the Crievewood Baptist Church on June 25, 2019; the Saint Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church on June 25, 2019; and the Priest Lake Community Baptist Church on June 26, 2019, all because of their religious character. The fires resulted in significant damage to all four churches.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-sentenced-seven-years-series-church-arsons

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-charged-civil-rights-violations-series-church-arsons

A Tennessee man pled guilty to a federal hate crime offense for assaulting two girls and their father.

On October 24, 2017, he yelled “Allahu Akbar!” and “Go back to your country!” at two teenage girls wearing hijabs. He later attacked and injured the girls’ father by swinging a knife and punching at him. When the girls’ mother arrived on the scene with her young child in her car, he chased after them with his knife still drawn. After being taken into custody, the defendant made derogatory comments about the family, pledged to kill them when the police released him, and admitted that he carried out this assault because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of the victims.

He will be sentenced on October 7, 2021.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime