After more than a year of legal battles, the manifesto of the Covenant School shooter has finally been made public, thanks to the efforts of the Tennessee Star. The FBI and local authorities resisted the release, prompting concerns about the government’s transparency.
The CEO of the Tennessee Star, Michael Patrick Leahy, expressed his frustration with both the FBI and local officials, explaining that they continually blocked the release of the manifesto under the claim that the investigation was still ongoing. Leahy said that the authorities had previously told the court the investigation would wrap up by June 2024, yet no progress had been made by September.
Leahy called the delays a clear stalling tactic, suggesting that the authorities simply did not want the information to become public. The manifesto, which sheds light on the troubled mental health of Audrey Hale, the shooter, reveals significant failures in the mental health system. Hale had been under psychiatric care for over 20 years and had been prescribed strong SSRI drugs, which likely contributed to her deteriorating state of mind.
Leahy believes the manifesto is crucial for the public to understand the deeper issues behind such violent acts. “What is the motivation behind these mass murders committed by very troubled people, and what’s the public policy solution to it?” he asked. Leahy also pointed out that the public conversation about this shooting has been misguided, focusing too much on gun control rather than the mental health crisis plaguing America.
“This is a matter of public interest,” Leahy said. He added that the true issue is how children are suffering from untreated mental illness and the over-prescription of psychiatric drugs. Many believe the FBI’s refusal to release the manifesto sooner only compounded the problem, raising questions about government accountability.
