SUMMARY: The ACLU of Tennessee has filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven Metro Council members against a new state law making it a felony for elected officials to vote in favor of sanctuary city policies. The complaint argues the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Speech and Debate Clause, which protects legislators’ official actions. Legal experts and some lawmakers express concerns about free speech and democratic principles. Republicans defending the bill say it enforces existing bans on sanctuary policies. Key provisions of the law will take effect July 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. The Attorney General’s office is reviewing the lawsuit.

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SUMMARY: Kilmer Garcia, 29, mistakenly deported from Maryland to El Salvador, was flown back to Nashville to face smuggling charges linked to a 2022 Putnam County traffic stop. A federal judge ruled the government cannot keep him in custody, denying the prosecution’s detention request due to insufficient evidence that Garcia poses a community danger or flight risk. Today, a Nashville hearing will determine the exact conditions of his release. Despite this, Garcia is expected to be handed over to ICE, increasing the chance of deportation. Heavy security and media presence mark the ongoing, high-profile federal courtroom proceedings.

Hearing to determine conditions of Garcia release

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by Cassandra Stephenson, Tennessee Lookout
June 25, 2025

The 19-year-old counter-protester arrested at Nashville’s No Kings Rally on June 14 was flagged two months earlier by a federal terrorism task force after posting an image on social media of a shotgun inscribed with “names of mass shooters and Neo-Nazi symbology,” according to Murfreesboro police.

Elijah Millar, of Murfreesboro, was arrested by Nashville police at the rally and charged with disorderly conduct after witnesses reported he brandished a handgun. Police seized a pistol from Millar at the scene.

Murfreesboro police arrested Millar three days later and charged him with three counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. Millar also faces a federal charge for unlawful possession of a firearm.

Millar, who has been treated for mental health conditions for several years, has been under conservatorship since 2023 after Rutherford County Chancery Court judges found him to be a “disabled person needing care” and “at risk of substantial harm to his health, safety and welfare.” The conservatorship restricts his access to firearms, according to court documents.

A detective with the Murfreesboro Police Department received a tip from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on April 3, reporting that Millar made a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the inscribed shotgun along with a small revolver, according to court documents obtained by Tennessee Lookout.

When police visited Millar’s home, Millar’s mother — his conservator — voluntarily gave police both firearms, telling them that “he purchased the firearms from a gun show without her consent,” the affidavit states.

Millar’s conservatorship requires him to be accompanied by his mother or step-father to purchase weapons and he cannot purchase or store weapons of any kind without his mother’s consent, according to federal court documents.

Millar’s federal public defender could not be immediately reached. Attempts to contact Millar’s mother were unsuccessful.

On June 16, two days after Millar was arrested at the Nashville protest, police received a call alleging that Millar made suicidal statements. Police met Millar outside his home and confiscated a loaded handgun from his waistband and a loaded magazine from his pocket. When police contacted Millar’s mother via phone, she told them she “was unaware of Mr. Millar having the Walther handgun, again violating the conservatorship.”

Millar was taken to the hospital for mental health treatment and police arrested him when he was released on June 17 for possessing the three weapons in violation of his conservatorship.

Federal prosecutors argued for Millar’s detention in a June 22 filing, citing “social media posts and online activity (that) have raised concerns amongst law enforcement that the Defendant has a desire to commit an act of mass violence.”

Miller is set to remain in custody at Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. If he is released from state custody, he will be transferred to federal custody, where he will remain until his federal trial, according to a federal court order.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

The post Police: Man arrested at Nashville ‘No Kings’ Rally flagged by federal terrorism task force in April appeared first on tennesseelookout.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article primarily reports on facts surrounding the arrest and legal situation of Elijah Millar without evident editorializing or ideological framing. It provides detailed background on his mental health, legal restrictions, and law enforcement concerns, focusing on public safety and due process. The language is straightforward and avoids partisan commentary or loaded terms. While it touches on sensitive topics like gun ownership, mental health, and extremism, it does so in a neutral tone, presenting information from official sources and court documents. Overall, the content aligns with balanced, factual reporting rather than expressing a distinct political bias.