Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Rep. Andy Ogles and state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson made an appearance at the Williamson County Library’s main branch in Franklin on Tuesday at a Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting billed as addressing human and child trafficking.
The group, which describes itself as a “Conservative Christian org fighting FOR children and against Marxism in Tennessee,” hosted Ogles and Johnson, with Ogles opening his remarks with a reflection on “justice” and what he vaguely called “a weaponization of our government against hard-working American citizens.”
Ogles voiced concern about the multiple ongoing criminal cases involving former President Donald Trump, saying, “If we don’t reestablish justice in this country, we’re damned.”
He added that the public should be “appalled” by the investigations regardless of the political party of the defendant, while in the same breath invoking “the Biden crime family” and calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden.
Ogles called for defunding “woke” prosecutors who are charging Trump, along with calls to defund the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an agency which itself is involved in investigating and combating human and child trafficking.
State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson speaks at a Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting, Aug. 15, 2023
Much of Ogles’ time was spent defending Trump’s name, and notably absent from his remarks was any mention of his previously touted claims of being a former law enforcement official who “worked in human trafficking.”
Earlier this year, a NewsChannel 5 investigation found that while Ogles did have a part-time position in 2011 with Nashville-based Abolition International, a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told NC5, “There is nothing in Mr. Ogles training or personnel file that indicates he had any involvement in 'international sex trafficking' in his capacity as a reserve deputy."
Ogles quickly left the library’s meeting room through a side door, refusing to answer any questions from the press or the public.
Johnson told the crowd that for three hours in 2017 he witnessed a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sting operation inside a Brentwood hotel at the invitation of TBI.
Johnson said that he is “committed” to “making this [combating human trafficking] a priority in this state,” vowing to introduce a “robust package of legislation” focused on sex trafficking in the coming legislative session beginning in January 2024.
Gun reform advocates gather outside the Franklin Library, Aug. 15, 2023
Johnson also spoke about his recent legislative victories, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and previewed next week’s special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Lee in response to the March Covenant School shooting. Johnson said he won’t support any form of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) during the special session.
Dozens of protesters calling for “common sense gun reform” stood outside the library in opposition to both Ogles and Johnson, with Johnson waving at the crowd from a distance as he arrived at the library.
Johnson did receive some pushback from several community members in attendance at the event, while event organizers barred several protesters from entering the meeting room at the beginning of the event.
This article first ran via our sister publication, The News.
