The FBI is under fire for fighting against the release of the Covenant School shooter’s manifesto for over a year, despite mounting public interest. The Tennessee Star finally published the document after a lengthy legal battle, shedding light on the tragic event, but raising serious questions about transparency within the FBI and local authorities.
Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO of the Tennessee Star, led the charge to obtain the manifesto. He argued that the public deserved to know the details behind the shooting, yet both the FBI and Metro Nashville Police Department resisted releasing the information, claiming an ongoing investigation. Leahy believes this excuse was a stalling tactic to avoid public scrutiny.
Leahy explained that Audrey Hale, the Covenant School shooter, had been under psychiatric care for more than two decades and was taking powerful SSRI drugs since 2019. He sees this information as vital to understanding the true cause of such violence, which, according to Leahy, has been wrongly framed in terms of gun control.
“What the public should really be talking about is how our mental health system has failed people like Hale,” Leahy said. He believes the manifesto reveals important information about the mental health crisis in America, particularly the over-prescription of psychiatric drugs to children and young adults.
The FBI’s delay in releasing the manifesto has led many to question whether the agency is truly serving the public interest, or if it’s more focused on keeping controversial information under wraps.
