Greeneville assistant police chief charged with December assault

An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of the Greeneville assistant police chief in connection to an assault that occurred in December.

On Dec. 11, at the request of Third Judicial District Attorney General Dan Armstrong, TBI special agents began investigating allegations of assault involving Greeneville Police Department Assistant Chief Stephen Hixson, 51. The investigation revealed that on Dec. 10, Hixson allegedly assaulted his stepdaughter during an argument at a home in the 100 block of Sunnyside Ridge Drive in Greeneville.

The Greene County Grand Jury returned an indictment Monday charging Hixson with one count of simple assault. Hixson turned himself in and was booked into the Greene County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

In a statement from the GPD, Chief Tim Ward said that Hixson remains on leave from the department. Ward said that the department will not comment as it awaits the outcome of the case.

WV law makes obstructing police, ‘causing death’ a felony

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s governor on Monday signed a bill that makes interfering with a police officer and causing their death a felony punishable by up to life in prison.

The bill that passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature was named after Charleston Patrol Officer Cassie Johnson, who was fatally shot in December 2020 as she was responding to a parking complaint.

Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill in his reception room before Johnson’s family and two dozen Charleston police officers.

“Losing Cassie, it’s touched everybody’s heart,” Justice said.

The law, which is effective in June, calls for the same possible penalties as a murder conviction. The distinction is the bill doesn’t require the state to prove the traditional elements of murder, which include premeditation or malice.

The law comes in the midst of a national uproar over police brutality prompted by the fatal beating in January of Tyre Nichols by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

The bill did not explain what would constitute obstruction, although state code defines it as someone who threatens, or forcibly or illegally interferes with, impedes or hinders an officer acting in their official duties. It allows for parole after 15 years in prison. It also applies to probation, parole and corrections officers, as well as courthouse security, firefighters, emergency medical service workers and fire marshal employees.

Joshua Phillips, of Charleston, was sentenced last year to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder in Johnson’s death. He also got six more months for drug possession.

A resident had said that Phillips parked his sport utility vehicle on her property, according to a police complaint.

Johnson, 28, was worried about her safety because Phillips had pulled a gun, prevented Johnson from getting to her service revolver and struggled with her before shots were fired, prosecutors said.

Phillips fired six shots, according to testimony at the trial. Johnson was shot in the neck.

Tennessee Senate OKs push to define ‘sex’; may risk funding

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Transgender people in Tennessee would be prevented from changing their driver’s licenses and birth certificates under legislation approved by Republican senators Monday.

The legislation, which still must clear the House chamber, would define male and female in state law and base people’s legal gender identities on their anatomy at birth. Legislative officials have warned that enacting the bill could cost the state millions in federal funding because the definition conflicts with federal rules.

According to the fiscal review, Tennessee faces a potential loss of $1.2 billion of federal education funding and $750,000 of federal grants dedicated to help women and children. Other state and local governments could also be impacted, but the review did not detail a specific amount.

LGBTQ rights advocates have long argued that having a driver’s license or birth certificate match a person’s identity is not only personally important but also beneficial to avoiding harassment.

However a handful of Republican-led state, including Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas have introduced similar bills as GOP lawmakers put transgender issues at the forefront of their legislative agenda.

Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee’s Republican governor, has not said publicly whether he supports the legislation.

McNally ‘pausing’ social media after

liking LGBTQ posts

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced Monday that he is “pausing” all social media activity after revelations that he repeatedly commented on posts of nearly nude photos of a young gay model and other LGBTQ personalities.

McNally, a Republican, initially stated last week that he “had no intention of stopping” when pressed about why he repeatedly commented on racy social media posts by the 20-year-old. He later issued an apology, saying it was not his intention to embarrass his friends, family or members of the legislature.

However, the 79-year-old legislative leader has since received national attention — including being parodied on Saturday Night Live — with critics accusing McNally of being hypocritical. Particularly, McNally supported legislation restricting where certain drag shows can take place.

Some of the posts that have sparked the most uproar include commenting on a photo of the man’s backside, where he was wearing only underwear, saying “you can turn a rainy day into rainbow and sunshine.” McNally then posted a comment using only heart and fire emojis. In a separate post, McNally posted a heart emoji of the man pulling down his underwear.

“While I see now that I should have been more careful about how my comments and activity would be perceived, my intent was always engagement and encouragement,” McNally said in a statement. “For this reason, I will be pausing my social media activity in order to reflect and receive more guidance on the use of social media.”

McNally added while he may have made “some mistakes,” he disagreed that he had a record of being “anti-gay” and pointed to his opposition of a 2020 law that assured continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if those organizations exclude LGBTQ families and others based on religious beliefs.

Yet McNally then pointed to his support of “traditional marriage” and support of bills that “keep obscenity out of the public sphere.”

“There is no contradiction here,” he said.

McNally, who is from Oak Ridge, became lieutenant governor in 2017. He has been a state lawmaker since the late 1970s.

Homicide inquiry for Arkansas teen found dead in Mississippi

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) — Officials in Arkansas say they are investigating the death of a high school senior as a homicide after the 18-year-old was found dead in a Mississippi national forest.

Fredarrious Wilson, who was last seen in his hometown of West Memphis, Arkansas on March 5, was found in a remote section of the Holly Springs National Forest near Coffeeville, Mississippi, on Wednesday. That’s about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of West Memphis.

Wilson’s mother, Shirley Howell, told local news outlets that her son said he was going to the movies with a friend, but said she later learned he was with someone else.

Investigators located a signal from Wilson’s phone in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, but searchers didn’t find the body until Wednesday, off a rural road.

Howell told WHBQ-TV that her son rarely strayed far from home.

“He was a whole momma’s boy,” she said. “He joked around and liked to play. He went to school, went to work, played videos and stayed up all night.”