It’s about damned time! This in regards to last weekend’s American Renaissance Conference and folks who came out to oppose this annual hatefest is maintaining that the state is protecting hate speech while limiting free speech.

Hate Free Tennessee

Social demonstrators affiliated with Hate Free Tennessee, Antifascist 615, and other organizations have put The State of Tennessee on notice of a pending class action lawsuit concerning the violation of demonstrators’ constitutional rights. 

Since 2012, Montgomery Bell State Park, a quaint Tennessee State Park, has accommodated The American Renaissance (AmRen) annual conference, a pseudo-intellectual society of white supremacy, eugenics, and neo-Nazi ideas which private businesses have long blacklisted from renting their venues. 

The New Century Foundation, which owns the American Renaissance website and organizes the conference, claims The State of Tennessee must accommodate their controversial conference under constitutionally protected freedoms of speech. For years, The State of Tennessee has accepted this certified hate group’s money in fees for AmRen to host their annual conference at Montgomery Bell State Park. 

State Law Enforcement agents (State Troopers and Park Rangers) have provided armed security for the conference attendees, resembling more a private, armed militia more than impartial keepers of the peace. 

Social demonstrations against this conference of bigotry on state property have long been subjected to punitive, unlawful treatment by agents of The State. In addition to being physically relegated to “designated free speech zones” across a natural barrier (a body of water and barricaded bridge), agents of The State have systematically engaged in unprofessional, unlawful behavior, such as locking public restrooms in order to make the demonstrators’ lives uncomfortable. 

One year, state law enforcement arrested an individual who, due to a medical condition and no access to restrooms at the park, could not hold their bladder and had to relieve themselves in the remote woods. 

While social demonstrators are subjected to targeted, punitive measures by State law enforcement agents, AmRen conference attendees enjoy a five-star experience in “The Lodge” (“a fully renovated natural retreat,” as marketed on TN State Parks’ website), safely sheltered away from protestors who are barricaded by law enforcement nearly a mile away. 

Preserving the peace? Hardly. 

More like preserving the comfort of the resentful pseudo intellectuals in blazers and khakis, the “paying customers” renting out a state building (“The Lodge”) to lament the decline of the white man in society and to conspire his social resurgence in their sad, socially Darwinistic scheme. 

Social demonstrators at Montgomery State Bell Park have long had their constitutional rights tyrannized and violated by agents of The State. Specifically, law enforcement agents of The State have inhibited the demonstrators’ exercise of freedom of speech, press, liberty, and movement on public property. 

“Designated free speech zones” (herding social demonstrators into a particular section of public property to limit the exercise of their freedom of speech) have been ruled unconstitutional by Tennessee courts. 

According to T.C.A. 49-7-2405, designated “free speech zones” are illegal insofar as public college campuses are concerned. We interpret the freedoms of speech endowed to individuals on public educational institutions (public property) to extend to The State’s public parks, as well (also public property). 

On 11.16.24, while peacefully ambulating down a public roadway on park property engaging in their First Amendment rights, ensuring not to obstruct or impede traffic along the roadway, demonstrators were physically impeded by law enforcement agents (THP and Park Rangers.) 

The intercepting law enforcement agents stated to demonstrators that the demonstrators were “not allowed past this point.” Demonstrators asked law enforcement to confirm if this was a lawful order. 

Law enforcement affirmed that this was a lawful order and informed demonstrators that they would be arrested if they attempted to enter this particular region of the public park which law enforcement agents barred from the demonstrators’ ingress. 

Under duress and threatened with arrest, demonstrators asked the law enforcement agents to articulate the lawful basis of the issued order which contradicted with rhetoric free exercise of their constitutional rights. 

Law enforcement agents refused to inform the demonstrators of the lawful basis for restricting the demonstrators’ constitutionally protected activities of speech, liberty, press, and movement on public property (a “public forum.) 

Law enforcement agents refused to provide their names and badge numbers when requested repeatedly by demonstrators, violating their respective department policies by failing to readily provide this information. Furthermore, law enforcement agents refused to provide a supervisor to address the concerns of the demonstrators, also violating their departmental policies in this capacity. 

Legal Redress: 

The grounds of this class action lawsuit are found under The Supremacy Clause of The Constitution, which clearly delineates the precedence of Federal Law superseding conflicting State Laws. In addition to bringing suit against The State for sanctioning actions which violated demonstrators’ federal, constitutionally protected rights, we will be seeking to personally sue the respective law enforcement agents who deprived demonstrators of the free exercise of their constitutional rights and privileges under Section 1983 of The United States Code.

By violating the demonstrators’ constitutional rights without a valid legal basis, law enforcement officers have waived their qualified immunity and are, as such, personally liable for their actions. 

Moreover, The State of Tennessee, by facilitating and enabling its law enforcement agents to violate the demonstrators’ federally protected civil rights, has abrogated its sovereign immunity and is liable for deprivation of its citizens’ constitutional rights. 

The redress demonstrators seek is not monetary. We demand that The State, including its law enforcement agents, cease infringing upon demonstrators’ civil rights and interfering with demonstrators’ exercise of constitutionally protected activities on public property. 

To this end, we will be seeking relief in our prospective litigation to ensure no violations of constitutionally protected rights occur again during social demonstrations in Tennessee. 

This encounter between demonstrators and state law enforcement agents at Montgomery Bell State Park on 11.16.2024 was recorded audiovisually by demonstrators. 

If The State of Tennessee wishes to accommodate hate and protect The American Renaissance’s freedom of speech, we will hold it accountable to likewise protect dissenting expressions of speech. A State Government which engages in partial behavior to one group’s exercise of freedoms of speech must not punitively infringe upon another’s. 

This is the basis of tyranny and the death of liberty. 

We will not allow the violation of its citizens’ liberties by our government. We will hold The State of Tennessee accountable in order to improve “a more perfect union.” 

Hateful groups seeking a haven in Nashville will find vigorous opposition by those who will fight tirelessly to ensure liberty and justice for all.