There was recently a local battle underway for authorities to release the manifesto of Nashville, Tennessee shooter Audrey Hale. Now it turns out that someone ended up leaking it, giving the public a picture of went on in the mind of Audrey Hale as she opened fire at [00:00:18] a Christian private school in Nashville. But there are also some questions about why the manifesto was kept from the public in the first place. And luckily, we've got some answers for that question. But I also want to just kind of dive into why it is that when it came [00:00:33] to this particular mass shooting, the public wasn't allowed to see the manifesto in other mass shootings. We get the manifesto right away. So before we get to the manifesto itself, here's a refresher on the tragic shooting that took place earlier this year. So, as I mentioned, Audrey Hale was the mass shooter. [00:00:51] She killed six people at Covenant School last March. The 28 year old shooter was killed by police after having opened fire, killing nine year old children and three adults. The shooting took place on March 27th, specifically at this Christian private [00:01:09] school, and she actually had previously attended the school. Police have said that Hale planned extensively for the shooting, and investigators found drawn maps of the school with surveillance and entry points, you know, noted in her drawings. [00:01:24] And the shooter was armed with what police have described as two assault style rifles and a handgun. Now, the public, members of the public, members of the press have been asking to see the manifesto for quite some time now. We knew that a manifesto existed. [00:01:40] People were curious what motivated her to carry out this shooting, and the family members of the victims did not want the manifesto to be released, so they were actually engaging in these court battles to prevent the release of the manifesto to the general public. [00:01:57] Now all of a sudden, though, someone leaked it to Steven Crowder and Steven Crowder shared details about it on social media. On YouTube. That video was taken down because of the content of it, and I'm guessing [00:02:13] sharing the details of the manifesto goes against their terms of service. So we are not going to get into the details of what the manifesto says. I'll say something general and broad about what we know about the manifesto. First of all, it's clear that Crowder didn't have the entire manifesto. [00:02:29] He had three pages of it. He shared photos of it online, and in it it's clear that the shooter had issues with privileged white people. Okay, so, Jake, I want to bring you in because clearly the right really wanted [00:02:47] this to come out because after that story broke, there were some news reports indicating that the shooter, Audrey Hale, was transgender. We're talking about a private Christian school that was victimized with this mass shooting. So there were some theories that maybe what motivated her was this, you know, [00:03:05] anti-conservative motivation, right? So that's why they wanted to put it out there. Like, look at this. The left is radicalizing people to carry out this violence. So I know that that's why Crowder wanted to do it. But do you think that the public has an interest in knowing what the manifesto said? [00:03:20] Yeah, I do. There's only one potential caveat here, which is if she blamed some of the specific kids or teachers that she killed and had detailed stories about them, I wouldn't want to retraumatize those families by having the person who murdered [00:03:37] their kids, then smear them afterwards. Right. So I would want to be very careful about that. Now, having said that, if the manifesto doesn't do that and it's general talk of hating these privileged white people or cisgender [00:03:53] people, I don't know what it says. Right? But whatever it says, why wouldn't we be able to see it? So we see all the right wing manifestos filled with hatred against different minority groups and, and women and and so many others. And I think that that's helpful to the conversation because, you see, [00:04:11] unfortunately, this has taken root in some portions of the extreme right wing. And so we need to be on guard. Like if they're referring to the same race war theories, they're referring to militias, maybe it helps us understand the scope of the problem and address [00:04:27] the problem, but the same would apply if it's a quote unquote left wing shooter that had problems with right wingers. Now, in this case, it's it's very rare that it happens on the left. Unfortunately, it's happened dozens of times on the right. So I don't know that there's much to extrapolate. [00:04:44] But nevertheless, I think it's relevant information for the public to know. And it doesn't help anyone if you cover things up. Exactly. Yeah, I agree. It only makes it raises more suspicion. And it makes people wonder, why are you releasing the right wing manifestos but not the left? 21. And it's just it's not a good look. [00:05:02] It's not right for democracy. It's not how we should conduct ourselves. So make sure that we're not being insensitive to the families for sure. Right. But afterwards, if it's just a general political manifesto, we should see it like we've seen all the other ones. The other thing is, you know, there's this game kind of being played about, oh, [00:05:21] well, this side of the political spectrum is radicalizing these dangerous people. Oh no, no, no. It's that side of the political spectrum that's radicalizing this group of people. And look, I do think that the rhetoric we engage in is the tone of the rhetoric we engage in is important. [00:05:37] And if this manifesto has any indication that she was radicalized based on content she was consuming online, I do think it's important to know all of that. But then how do you also balance a country that values freedom of speech, freedom of expression with stories like this? [00:05:54] You get what I'm saying? Because like, look, obviously, you know, when it came to replacement theory, there was a shooter who was motivated by his fears that white people were being replaced by migrants in the country. And that was something that was repeatedly talked about by Tucker Carlson [00:06:12] when he had a show on Fox News. But how do you balance freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of expression with the fact that we do live in a country where guns are easily accessible? We do live in a country where people are struggling with serious mental health issues. [00:06:28] I mean, you'll hear the right talk about how that's the real problem and we should really address it. But of course, Republican politicians consistently vote against appropriating the necessary resources to deal with our mental health crisis. The last time that issue came up, the last time they had an opportunity to vote on that legislation, a single Republican in the House [00:06:46] voted in favor of that legislation. Just one. So I don't know how you balance all of these things, because it feels like all of these tragedies have just become opportunities to engage in partizan garbage, as opposed to finding real solutions to combat the issue. [00:07:04] Yeah. So look, I have a proposal. It's not going to solve the whole issue, of course, at all. But I just so let's begin with, well, what do we do with a problem like Tucker, when Tucker keeps talking about the great replacement theory and he's [00:07:21] egging on and radicalizing his audience, now, if he's radicalizing them and they're just saying things and and taking political action and voting, that's their business, not my business. And so but when they go to harm others and they kill others, that becomes a public issue. [00:07:38] And so but at the same time, you can't say, hey, I didn't like what you were saying. I thought it was radicalizing. So I'm going to ban you from saying it. So I don't think that's the right answer because that's a very subjective standard, and I wouldn't even know where to draw the line for right wingers, let [00:07:54] alone left wingers, let alone everyone. That's a principled standard. Now, having said that, is one side doing it more than the other? Well, at this point, that's just the fact the FBI tells us, yes, the right wing militias and and different extremist movements [00:08:11] are giant domestic terrorist threat. And it is happening at a much greater rate over there. So why? Well, it's not that there are no left wing shooters. This person was appears to be a left wing shooter. Remember the one example that the Republicans always used is that one guy [00:08:29] who's a Bernie Sanders supporter who shot the Republicans on the softball field. But let's look at the difference. Does Bernie encourage his side to go do violence? No, never. That's why it's just this one random guy, and there's not a second data point at all [00:08:44] when it comes to Bernie, for example, and progressives in particular in that ilk. Right. Whereas there's dozens and dozens on the right wing, because it's not just Tucker Carlson, it's most of the right wing media hosts telling you got to do something. Oh, these guys are you're going to ruin your culture. [00:09:00] They're going to ruin your identity. They're going to ruin your family and your family. They're coming for you. They're going to replace you. You're in grave danger. This isn't about us. This is about you. You're in big, big danger, and you've got to do something. Now they know that that's irresponsible, but they think, yeah, but I'm making a lot of money. I'm getting ratings, I'm getting clicks. I'm so like. [00:09:18] Tucker, before he was fired, was the most popular host on Fox. - News, in cable. - News, in cable news, period. And he was making unbelievable amount of money from spreading that hatred and demagoguery. So I don't know that there's something that the law can do about that [00:09:34] or that I would support that action. But what we would ask the right wing to do is to be slightly irresponsible. So whenever we talk about issues, and especially if it's our side that's creating an issue, and like, for example, when Riley Gaines was holed [00:09:49] up in a in a room, she's a conservative, she's speaking out against trans women being involved in women's sports. And there was a, you know, she felt in danger. And it was. Not just a subjective feeling. The cops are worried about taking her out of the room because they thought she might be assaulted. [00:10:05] So that is wrong. And we call out that it's wrong. We tell our audience all the time, do not go in that direction. Violence never solves anything. It's immoral and it's a very bad strategy. So it's wrong on both counts. But do I see the right wing doing that? Almost never. Yeah, that's. A really good point, because I do think that there's a split [00:10:24] on the left when it comes to violence. I mean, I'll give you the latest example. Right. So there's that fringe element of the left that's justifying what Hamas did. And they have been condemned aggressively by pretty much everyone else in the left, including us, because it's disgusting. [00:10:40] And making justifications for terrorist acts, making justifications for targeting innocent civilians is not okay, period. Right. But I don't know if you see much of that going on among the right. I don't know if there's like a moderate, a group of moderate conservatives [00:10:57] who are like, hey guys, knock it off. This is super irresponsible rhetoric. It could inspire someone to carry out an act of violence. I'll give you another example. I remember doing a lengthy segment that some found controversial. I don't care, I stand by it 100%, where one of the elements that I featured [00:11:15] was a speaker at Yale who her name was Aruna Khilanani. Okay. And in that speech, it was recorded in everything. I played it for the audience. She talked about her fantasies of slaughtering white people who stood in her way. Insanity, absolute insanity. And it should be condemned. [00:11:31] But I want to see more of that on the right as well, because if we don't kind of keep our own side in check, then yeah, I just think irresponsible stuff does happen. Irresponsible, irresponsible rhetoric can inspire people [00:11:46] who do have mental health issues. Yeah. Look, I think the Tanki talk on the left about how they're going to take over and do violence, whatever the hell they're going to do is insanity. And so go and catch feelings, okay? They will. So, so but we're willing to call that out. [00:12:02] And anytime there's something that goes wrong on the left, the media and everyone else says, okay, it's everybody responsible on the left, you have to say that they were wrong and no problem because they are wrong. Right? But that never applies to the right. The only guy that I've seen in the last decade or so that is called [00:12:19] this out as a problem, and only in passing is Mitt Romney. And other than Romney, there's nobody. And they and he's roundly reviled by the right wing. Yeah. He is. They're like, oh, that guy doesn't even want to do violence. And instead, you know what? The reaction that the right wing has no way. It's not true. No way they're making it up. [00:12:36] The left is doing it too. No way. Our militias are totally safe. No, we should emphasize which tyranny of government, the tyranny of government. They had it coming, right? And so come on, keep it real. They deny reality and at every turn. And I'm not talking about all right wingers. I'm talking about right wing media. That is encouraging the crazies to do things like this. [00:12:53] And, and and they always say it's not us, it's not us. It's. That didn't happen. The FBI's making it up. It's deep state. Bunch of lunatics. So they're not they're deeply irresponsible. They have a right to say these things. We're not going to put them in jail for it or anything. [00:13:09] We're asking them to be decent human beings, but that is falling on deaf ears. Almost all of right wing media, not decent human beings. Okay. And but by the way, here is us for the billionth time in a row, calling out a left winger and saying, of course that's monstrous. [00:13:27] It doesn't matter if you're a right wing or left wing or if you're murdering people, little children. Right. And I want to see what your dumb ass manifesto said, because there is no justification for this. Right? And you release a manifesto and everyone right wing and left wing, the middle should shred it. [00:13:42] Do not believe in this insanity of going towards violence instead of political solutions. And look, now that a few pages of that manifesto have been leaked to Steven Crowder. And by the way, the local authorities are investigating who leaked it, how it got leaked, all of that. [00:13:58] We have one perspective on what the manifesto says. We don't have the entirety of it. And I think reporter Phil Williams makes a good point here in noting why it is that various journalists have been calling for the release of the manifesto. Multiple sources have told me that the selective leak of of three pages [00:14:17] of the covenant school shooting manifesto is extremely misleading. People who have read the whole thing say there's something in there for everybody, meaning she wanted to target everybody. Another, she hated everybody. This is why journalism organizations have argued for the release [00:14:33] of the shooter's writings. So the conversation can be based on facts, not someone spin. And let's be clear at the at this moment, it is based on Steven Crowder's spin and the limited, you know, access he's had to that manifesto. So I do think there's a public interest in knowing what the manifesto said. [00:14:51] And I also agree that this is spurring more conspiracy theories, because, again, any time there's been a right wing shooter with a right wing manifesto. So we've been able to see it right away. And last thing I'll say is from our perspective, never hide facts so and do [00:15:07] not shape your facts around your ideology because they're not your facts, they're just reality. You should shape your ideology around facts, not vice versa. Right. So we're not never in favor of hiding facts. It's important to be honest with yourself. [00:15:24] See what happened so that you could address it and get better. Hey, thanks for watching the video. 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