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A media outlet in the Volunteer State has published the manifesto of mass murderer Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the trans killer who perpetrated the deadliest mass shooting in Tennessee history at a Christian school in Nashville a year-and-a-half ago.
“Why does my brain not work right?” Hale wrote in one of the manifesto pages published by The Tennessee Star. “Cause I was born wrong. Nothing on earth can save me.”
At approximately 10:11 a.m. CDT on the morning of March 27, 2023, Hale entered the The Covenant School – a Presbyterian school which is located approximately five-and-a-half miles south-southwest of Nashville – by firing through the front glass doors of the school office.
Two weeks earlier, Hale had written in her journal “I’ll be dead in two weeks,” adding the ominous notation “I’m sorry, innocent lives will be taken.”
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“Soon I will leave this world,” Hale added. “I will regret nothing. No regrets by the gun!!!”
Previously released excerpts from Hale’s writings expressed the killer’s desire for a “high death count” – and assailed her future victims as “little crackers” and “faggots” with “white privilege.”
Once inside the school, Hale shot and killed three nine-year-old students – Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs – as well as three employees of the school, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, custodian Mike Hill and Katherine Koonce, the head of the school.
Peak and the three student victims were shot repeatedly by Hale after they were initially wounded, according to police.
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Hale – a biological female who identified as a male named “Aiden Hale” – was shot and killed by responding officers at approximately 10:25 a.m. CDT, less than fifteen minutes after her rampage began.
As our Dylan Nolan reported at the time, Hale was “a transgender alumni of the school with a history of mental illness” who, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), left behind writings which indicated “her planning over a period of months to commit mass murder at the Covenant School.”
The Star published Hale’s manifesto in defiance of a court order which had sought to unconstitutionally enjoin the outlet from even possessing her writings. In fact, Tennessee chancellor I’Ashea Miles threatened the media outlet with jail time for publishing stories which referenced information contained in the document.
Previously, the Star had taken MNPD to court in an effort to obtain the manifesto, which is a public document under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Miles ruled against the paper, citing an “ongoing investigation” exemption and “copyright” claim made on the writings.
That case is pending before the Tennessee court of appeals.
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At least one of the parents of the children who was murdered in the attack made it clear she did not want the manifesto published.
“I will not stand by to allow these shooter’s writings be published in any way,” wrote Erin Kinney, whose son William was killed in the attack. “This mass murderer doesn’t get to speak from the grave.”
As for the Star, it has consistently – and correctly – asserted its constitutional protections when it comes to the possession and dissemination of the materials.
“We have had a First Amendment right to publish these documents from the moment we legally obtained them in June 2024,” Star publisher Michael Patrick Leahy said. “We legally obtained this handwritten journal – which we refer to as The Covenant Killer’s 2023 Journal to distinguish it from the many journals written by Hale prior to 2023 – in early June of 2024 from a source familiar with the MNPD investigation. We believe it to be authentic.”
In the newly published pages of the manifesto, Hale raged against herself – citing her “pure hatred of my female gender.” Which would make this a definitional hate crime, although as I’ve often pointed out “some degree of hate is required for the commission of most violent crimes.”
Ultimately, Hale’s manifesto is a public document. Given that she was the sole perpetrator of this attack – and is deceased – there is no legitimate “ongoing investigation” exemption available to justify holding this material back. Also, with so much of Hale’s writing already in the public discourse, it seems ridiculous to try and keep it bottled up at this point – even if there were legitimate constitutional grounds for doing so (which there are not).
In the final analysis, nothing is going to bring these lost lives back… just as nothing will ever justify them being taken in the first place.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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5 comments
Exactly what we expected – just a nut job. Ascribing a political viewpoint to these people might be tempting but 95+% are just nuts (or in his/her/they’s case, lack of nuts..)
Trans is a mental disorder.
TDS
It’s time that we stop protecting “trans” people and give them the real care they need. In many cases, these people are have anxiety, depression, autism or other mental disorders.
It’s disgusting that WE allow THEM to push this MENTAL ILLNESS as somehow NORMAL. It’s time we start putting more effort into HONESTY and Truth instead of feel good lies.