{"id":2492475,"date":"2025-09-29T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-tennessee-republican-confronts-town-blocking-charlie-kirk-vigil\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:15:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:15:35","slug":"top-tennessee-republican-confronts-town-blocking-charlie-kirk-vigil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-tennessee-republican-confronts-town-blocking-charlie-kirk-vigil\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Tennessee Republican Confronts Town Blocking Charlie Kirk Vigil"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftop-tennessee-republican-confronts-town-blocking-charlie-kirk-vigil%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2492475&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Morristown, Tennessee, city officials blocked a resident, Brad Tumey, from holding a Charlie Kirk vigil in a public space, citing ordinance restrictions. Tennessee Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti intervened, sending a letter to Morristown&#8217;s mayor warning that the city ordinance banning religious events in public areas violates state law, specifically the Tennessee Human Rights Act, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rutgers-law-drops-policy-requiring-student-groups-to-promote-critical-race-theory\/\" title=\"Rutgers Law Drops Policy Requiring Student Groups To Promote Critical Race Theory\">prohibits discrimination based<\/a> on religion in public accommodations. Skrmetti urged the city not to enforce the ordinance to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yes-doctors-are-performing-sex-change-surgeries-on-kids\/\" title=\"Yes, Doctors Are Performing Sex Change Surgeries On Kids\">avoid legal issues<\/a>, including potential First Amendment concerns. Tumey, supported by First Liberty Institute, argued that the city&#8217;s blanket ban on religious expression is unconstitutional. City officials contended that Tumey failed to properly apply for the event and that alternative locations exist. The case arises amid numerous Charlie Kirk vigils nationwide following his assassination.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>After officials in Morristown, Tennessee, blocked a resident from hosting a Charlie Kirk vigil, Tennessee Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti weighed in on the debate, vowing to challenge the ordinance purportedly stopping the event from moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Skrmetti sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025.09.25-AG-Morristown-Letter_Redacted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a> to Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney on Thursday, cautioning that the city ordinance blocking religious events in public areas violates the laws of the state.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tennessee law prohibits denying a person the full and equal enjoyment of a public accommodation on the grounds of religion,&rdquo; Skrmetti wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The official said that if Morristown authorities were to enforce the ordinance, they would be &ldquo;treating activities differently on the basis of religion and would therefore be in violation of Tennessee&rsquo;s Human Rights Act.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rather than entering into litigation over the policy, Skrmetti offered that Morristown simply not enforce it.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I understand that in addition to the Tennessee Human Rights Act, there may be significant First Amendment issues at stake as well,&rdquo; Skrmetti continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[B]ut those are outside the scope of my enforcement authority under Tennessee law,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have no doubt that if you are willing to work this out, our respective teams will be able to formalize language quickly that resolves the Tennessee Human Rights Act issue to our mutual satisfaction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The letter comes after resident Brad Tumey had a request to host a Charlie Kirk vigil denied, according to a report from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/tennessee-ag-weighs-in-on-city-banning-charlie-kirk-prayer-vigil.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christian Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>First Liberty Institute senior counsel Nate Kellum wrote a letter to Morristown on Tumey&rsquo;s behalf, contending that the blockage of the religious event was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The City&rsquo;s categorical ban on all religious expression is an unconstitutional restriction on Tumey&rsquo;s right to freedom of speech. Speech on <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >religious topics receives full constitutional shielding<\/a>,&rdquo; Kellum said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The City has no legitimate interest in categorically denying all religious activity, including Tumey&rsquo;s planned prayer vigil, in a downtown park, nor is such a ban narrowly tailored.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Morristown Assistant City Manager Andrew Ellard responded by claiming that Tumey had simply failed to correctly complete an event application, adding that a farmer&rsquo;s market was already scheduled for the public space during his desired time.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The City has ample alternative locations for such a public forum. The City is allowed to regulate how, when, and where certain activities occur to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/miami-beach-mayor-touts-calmest-spring-break-in-years-following-police-crackdown\/\" title=\"Miami Beach Mayor Celebrates Quietest Spring Break in Recent Memory After Increased Police Presence\">ensure public order<\/a> and safety,&rdquo; Ellard said.<\/p>\n<p>Ellard added that &ldquo;the City Plaza and City Center rotunda is often used for prayer services,&rdquo; including a vigil held on Sept. 24.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A prayer is said inside the City Council Chambers prior to the start of every City Council meeting,&rdquo; Ellard continued.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of Charlie Kirk vigils have been organized across the country in response to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-is-laura-loomer-republicans-fear-conservative-activists-influence-growing-on-trump-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Who is Laura Loomer? Republicans fear conservative activist\u2019s influence growing on Trump - Washington Examiner\">conservative activist&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s assassination on Sept. 10.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After Morristown, Tennessee officials prevented a resident from holding a Charlie Kirk vigil, Tennessee Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti intervened, promising to contest the ordinance that allegedly halted the event. On Thursday, Skrmetti sent a letter to Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney warning that the city&#8217;s rule prohibiting religious gatherings in public spaces violates state law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2492476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jonathan-Skrmetti.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44291,5894,3911,6651,63330],"class_list":["post-2492475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-politics","tag-republican","tag-tennessee","tag-vigil-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jonathan-Skrmetti.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2492475"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2492479,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2492475\/revisions\/2492479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2492476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2492475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2492475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2492475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}