Protesters near the state Capitol on the Fourth of July
While the Tennessee House and Senate return to the Capitol for a special session this week to discuss bills related to the pandemic, legislators will also consider a pair of bills that seek to enhance penalties for camping and property damage related to ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.
The first of the bills would give the state attorney general the power to investigate and prosecute protesters if the Davidson County district attorney declines to do so. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro has already criticized the bill as “unconstitutional garbage” on Twitter.
The other bill increases the punishments for vandalism and for violations of a law banning camping on state property. The bill would increase the penalty for breaking the camping law from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by a minimum sentence of 30 days of incarceration. It also calls for a required 12-hour hold for arrests made related to vandalism and camping charges.
Protesters are planning three days of action in response to these bills, including a honk-a-thon protest on Monday night, during which cars will drive by the Capitol and sound off in support. Protesters have also insisted that charges of vandalism and property damage at the Capitol have been related to chalk drawings that are easily washed off by soap and water. That said, a prominent statue of early-20th-century U.S. Sen. Edward Carmack was toppled at the Capitol in the wake of an early Black Lives Matter protest, before demonstrators' occupation of the plaza.
The People’s Plaza protesters have occupied a corner of Legislative Plaza for nearly 60 days, demanding an audience with Gov. Bill Lee to discuss defunding the police and the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the Capitol. Lee hasn’t met with the protesters, who have faced multiple arrests over the summer.
In his call for the special session, Lee said the protests have resulted in vandalism and destruction of public property. The protesters criticized Lee and the legislation in an Instagram post.
“The governor has been completely uninterested in meeting with ordinary, non-lobbyist citizens seeking a voice in the legislative process and a chance to address concerns over systemic racism in Tennessee,” the post reads. “Instead, he has spent over one million dollars on monitoring, intimidating, and harassing protestors seeking an audience with him.”
For June alone, the state spent more than $850,000 in overtime and travel pay for Tennessee Highway Patrol officers to monitor the protest. According to The Tennessean, the special session will cost about $119,000 total.
