NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — This summer, a white supremacist, neo-Nazi group spent time in Nashville — passing out flyers on Lower Broadway, littering the sidewalks, hanging banners from overpasses and hanging posters in public places.
A new bill in the state legislature would strengthen Tennessee law to describe those activities as a hate crime.
The Goyim Defense League stayed in Nashville for days during the summer, and they were defined as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are a group that primarily lends their hate to the Jewish community, though the group on Broadway was screaming about the Jewish, LGBTQ and the Black community.
The hate group the Patriot Front didn't have a permit to march in the city, but they did so anyway in early July. They were seen in Nashville as recently as this week pasting up their flyers to utility boxes. In 2024, They spray-painted their logo under the Woodland Street Bridge, which is vandalism. They also defaced the retaining wall in Brentwood on the side of Interstate 65. The Tennessee Department of Transportation had to paint over it.
House Bill 55 — filed by Majority Leader Rep. William Lamberth and Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon — would be known as the PEACE Act and make those actions misdemeanor crimes. PEACE stands for Protecting Everyone Against Crimes and Extremism.
"Whether it's Nazis or Antifa or any type of hate group that's out there, we're not going to put up with that here," Lamberth said. "We simply don't want those groups here. We don't want them spreading their hate and crimes all over our city. And so I started having conversations with the (Metro) Nashville Police Department and with local leaders here in Nashville on how to make sure that we can put some laws in place to keep those kind of groups out of Tennessee."
Metro Council passed similar ordinances this fall after what happened in Nashville with supremacist groups, but cities in Tennessee can only levy fines. Rep. Lamberth said he wanted to build on that foundation of the city ordinance to make it a statewide policy for criminal offenses.
"At the state level, we're able to pass criminal laws where someone would actually go to jail if they were violating this bill, and they should," Lamberth said. "Because, again, hatred has no place in the state of Tennessee. We're a very loving state. We're a very Christian. Most folks are people of faith — regardless of whether it's Christian, Muslim, Jewish or various other faiths. We're a very loving state, I believe. And so some of these groups that come in here from other states or even other countries trying to spread hate, they're just simply not welcome."
Here is a breakdown of what the law would do
Hate litter and trespassing: This would become a Class A misdemeanor. This summer, supremacist groups littered neighborhoods in Green Hills expressing that Jewish residents were satanic. They were left in plastic bags all along the sidewalk. This would law include leaving this kind of litter on personal property — driveways, doorsteps, car windshields.
Submitted to WTVFRoad safety: This part of the legislation would make it illegal to transport a person in the cargo area of a box truck. This came up when members of the Patriot Front poured out of a U-Haul in masks and proceeded to march in the middle of Nashville. Secondly, it would make attaching a sign or any other marking to a bridge illegal. This would be a Class B misdemeanor.
Submitted to WTVFMembers of the Patriot Front jumped out of U-Haul before marching in Nashville this summer and passing out "Reclaim America" flyers in early July 2024. - Police obstruction and procedures: This will create a buffer zone around law enforcement while they are carrying out their official duties, the legislation states. That distance would be 25 feet. Violating that piece of the proposed law would be a Class B misdemeanor. It would also create a Class C misdemeanor for anyone who gives law enforcement a false name when questioned by police. The bill also allows for officers to make a misdemeanor arrest if there's compelling video or eye-witness testimony. Under current law, they can only make an arrest if they saw it in person or have approval from a magistrate.
The bill could see some resistance from those who enjoy conducting peaceful protests. Lamberth addressed that concern.
"We’ve been very careful here to make sure anyone that wants to come here to peacefully protest and have their voice heard is able to do that," he said.
Bipartisan support
Several key Nashville Democrats worked with state Republicans on this legislation, including Metro Police Chief John Drake, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and District Attorney General Glenn Funk.
A spokesperson for Funk highlighted several bills where the District Attorney has worked in partnership with Republicans, like Jillian's Law and the Peace Act.
Mayor O'Connell sent us a statement about the bill:
"Nashvillians and all Tennesseans deserve to know that they are safe in their community, and I appreciate Leader Lamberth's efforts to give our law enforcement the tools they need to successfully handle a variety of unique situations and prevent violence. It sends the message that hateful acts will never be tolerated here."
More bills are coming
Lamberth and Pody indicated two additional bills will be filed soon, that also address hate speech and hate groups. Lamberth told us one bill will increase penalties for in-person harassment. The second forthcoming bill will increase penalties for civil rights violations, especially for religious leaders and children. We were not given a timeline on when those bills would be filed.
Tennessee lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on Jan. 14.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email us at chris.davis@newschannel5.com or emily.west@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
