Fight the power
✊ Movements become businesses become rackets · High profile case in town · Did Metro dox · Housing market hot...For buyers · Illegal offender all-star · Ed the Zebra · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we compare the mayor to rioters in LA, look at the local housing market, honor an illegal offender all-star, and observe the capture of Ed the Zebra. First time reading? Sign up here.
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“Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
Eric Hoffer, The Temper of Our Time
I did something unusual yesterday: I watched live news coverage of the “peaceful protests” in Los Angeles on Fox Live. I saw the Waymos catch fire, the rocks lobbed at the police cars, the attempts to light a cruiser disabled on the 101 on fire, and all manner of weird, goon-like behavior captured best by a masked, shirtless man waving a Mexican flag on top of a burning car.
If I went out and set a car on fire right now, I would get arrested and charged with a felony. But if it's a "protest"—exercising “muh rights”—I can stand and harass the firefighters putting it out.
The trained and organized agitators of yesterday’s fracas in LA act the way they do because they have no reason to expect punishment for their actions. They might get a slap on the wrist, but they’ll soon be back out on the streets.
It’s an attitude eerily similar to that expressed by our mayor as he stares down the prospect of a federal investigation into whether he interfered with ICE operations in our city. We disclosed O’Connell’s unconcern in Friday’s newsletter. He even tacitly admitted that his executive order directly led to the disclosure of the identities of federal law enforcement agents. And yet, blasé would accurately describe his reaction to the charges.
The rioters are “peacefully protesting”—i.e., attempting to agitate and provoke law enforcement to react violently—and the mayor is “helping our community”—i.e., trying to aid local illegals in their efforts to remain in the city despite the efforts of the Trump administration to enforce laws already on the books. DAVIS HUNT
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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik.
⚖️ High Profile Case Lands In TN Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the states and has landed in a Middle Tennessee court to face criminal charges. Abrego Garcia made national headlines when he was deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison in March. The situation turned into a standoff between the Trump administration, a Maryland federal judge, and the U.S. Supreme Court when his deportation was deemed illegal because of a 2019 court order protecting Abrego Garcia from deportation to prevent potential gang persecution.
Abrego Garcia is scheduled to be arraigned in a Nashville federal court on Friday. “Over the past nine years, the defendant has played a significant role in an undocumented alien smuggling ring that has resulted in thousands of undocumented aliens being illegally transported into and throughout the United States, including members and associates of La Mara Salvatrucha (”MS-13″), a recently designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, as well as unaccompanied minor children,” states a motion for detention against Abrego Garcia filed on Friday.
Locally, Tennessee Coalition for Democracy, Th!rd Act Tennessee, United Volunteers and Organizers of TN, and Indivisible TN7 District are coordinating a rapid response protest in support of Abrego Garcia. The organizations plan to gather in front of the courthouse on Friday and have published a list of demands, including putting a stop to “the persecution and scapegoating of Kilmar on any fabricated charges” and “the weaponization of the Department of Justice.” Adding to the drama, sources told ABC News that the abrupt resignation of Former Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville, Ben Schrader, “was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons.”
🗣️ Did Metro Dox Another Agent During Special Called Meeting? Last week, Mayor O’Connell indicated that he does not plan to rescind Executive Order 30 despite pressure from state and federal officials. On Friday, O’Connell admitted that the protocol prompted by his EO was the reason for the unintentional doxxing of federal ICE agents on Metro Nashville’s government website, but that the mistake was “related to primarily new departments coming online and participating.”
O’Connell stated that the EO is an appropriate measure for transparency, that the disclosure of personal information was a mistake that has been resolved, and that Metro is working to ensure it won’t happen again through training and process improvements. That said, on May 7, the personal information of a Federal Protective Service Agent with the US Department of Homeland Security and several Metro Nashville Police Department officers were disclosed to a gallery full of despondent and hostile community members during a special called meeting regarding Nashville’s immigration enforcement operations. The name of the self-identified federal agent is still available in the public domain.
🏘️ Housing Market Hot… For Buyers This morning, Axios shared a Redfin report that named Middle Tennessee as one of the top buyer's markets in the country. In April, Nashville had 90 percent more sellers than buyers. Not only is it anticipated that this trend will likely drive down prices, it comes at a time when homeowners feel like they’re being priced out of Nashville.
While the average property value in Nashville increased by 45 percent following this year’s reappraisal, some homeowners have indicated that they’re considering moving out of the county due to the mayor’s proposed property tax increase. But will they be able to get what the assessor said their property is worth?
“The bottom line is, they talk about affordable housing and caring about housing prices and this increases the cost of housing,” Greg Halvorson told the Pamphleteer while protesting the tax increase at last week’s council meeting. “It hurts homeowners, potential homeowners, and renters. I'm a landlord, I'm going to have to increase the rent if they increase my taxes.”
“I've been living here for 30 years…but this increase of taxes is ridiculous,” said another protester, Michael Hun. “We got a 34 percent increase a couple years ago. Right now, they are talking about another hike. They're driving the good, hard-working Nashville homeowners away.”
DEVELOPMENT
✹ ILLEGAL OFFENDER ALL-STAR OF THE DAY
This guy might've played too much Grand Theft Auto. His thing is shooting at police helicopters. (More Info)
✹ ED THE ZEBRA CAUGHT!
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🪕 Kyle Tuttle's Bluegrass Monday @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $10, Info
🎸 Sour Tooth @ The East Room, 8p, $13.36, Info
🎸 Timbo & Lonesome Country @ Jane's Hideaway, 8p, Info
+ modern take on classic country, bluegrass & hillbilly Jazz
🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, Info
🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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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).