NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An advisory group appointed by Mayor John Cooper has recommended funding for two nonprofits, including the controversial Gideon's Army, as part of a two-year, $1.5 million violence interruption pilot project in North Nashville.
After a months-long process in which community groups were allowed to submit proposals and finalists were interviewed, the mayor's Community Safety Partnership Fund Advisory Board voted by email this week to recommend that Metro Council provide funding for Gideon's Army and Raphah Institute. If approved, each group will receive up to $750,000.
That recommendation comes just days after Gideon's Army founder and CEO Rasheedat Fetuga allegedly went on a profanity-laced tirade inside Pearl-Cohn High School offices, yanking a framed photo from the wall, taking it outside and stomping on it.
Fetuga, who disputed those witness accounts in a written statement, was banned from the North Nashville high school as a result of the incident.
Cooper spokesperson TJ Ducklo emphasized that the decision was not the mayor's to make.
“We respect and appreciate both the independent decisions of the Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board and Council’s role in making the final funding decision," Ducklo said in an email statement.
"Once Council selects which nonprofits to fund, we will work with Metro Public Health to design a contract with strong guardrails that will be rigorously enforced, as we do with all Metro contracts.”
Under the violence prevention program, the groups would be required to file for reimbursement. If there are any violations, those contracts could be suspended or terminated, with potential penalties for any misuse of Metro funds.
In 2021, Gideon's Army had lobbied the Metro Council to appropriate $1 million that it had hoped to receive for its efforts to interrupt violence in North Nashville.
But amid an ongoing NewsChannel 5 investigation, the mayor's office convinced Council members to give it the leeway to review proposals from different groups and make recommendations back to the legislative body.
An additional $500,000 was later appropriated to allow two groups to receive funding as part of a two-year pilot project.
Still, during a presentation by Gideon's Army last month, the board appointed by the mayor never asked leaders about any of the controversies surrounding the group.
Our NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Gideon's Army had greatly exaggerated its success in reducing violence in a North Nashville neighborhood.
In fact, a gang leader that Gideon's Army put on its payroll was shot and killed in a North Nashville gun battle. Evidence retrieved from the man's phones revealed that he was still active as a "high-level drug dealer," police concluded.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates also obtained surveillance video showing the Gideon's Army employee running through the neighborhood with an assault weapon after a shooting there.
Fetuga, who eventually stopped responding to NewsChannel 5's questions, appeared to be addressing those concerns during her presentation to the mayor's advisory board.
"I really think that the city, communities, the media needs to understand the complexities that our people face and also that people should be able to have an opportunity to be redeemed and that sometimes that takes time," she said.
Our investigation also discovered evidence of a Gideon's Army leader openly confronting Metro police at the same time the group was accepting city money as part of a contract that required it to help police develop relationships in the community.
We also exposed social media posts in which Gideon's Army leaders espoused controversial views on race, even referring to the respected president of Meharry Medical College as "a good house n****r."
And we uncovered questionable claims that the group has made in its solicitations of donations and questions about its financial practices.
In addition, the former number-two person for Gideon's Army, Jamel Campbell-Gooch, reportedly told public radio station WPLN that he left the group amid serious concerns about the way it was treating people in the neighborhoods.
“We had members of Gideon’s Army that was literally hurting other community members,” Campbell-Gooch said back in March. “And the leadership would not take action.”
Gideon's Army denied Campbell-Gooch's claims.
View all related stories:
NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Gideon's Army