Sen. Brent Taylor is calling on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to probe the weekend commandeering of the Hernando-Desoto Bridge over the Mississippi River on Interstate 40. The event had been planned for days on social media.
A mob of hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down the bridge for hours. Traffic backed up for miles in both directions. To make matters even worse, the I-55 bridge had ben closed for construction repairs.
Video shows Memphis Police negotiating with the protesters instead of arresting them. Orders were actually given not to arrest any of the protesters.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FREE KWAM APP – LISTEN TO 990 AM ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH!
The mob was allowed to march from City Hall onto the streets and then the ramps leading to the bridge without being stopped.
“The unlawful commandeering of Memphis bridges is becoming an all-too-common occurrence,” Taylor wrote in a letter to the TBI director. “These types of bridge closures add to the general feeling of lawlessness in Memphis. We must have law and order! It is unacceptable that no arrests were made during this protest when such actions are already crimes under Tennessee law.”
Taylor pointed out that six pro-life demonstrators were arrested and charged for praying and singing hymns outside an abortion clinic north of Nashville. They face up to 10 years in prison.“It is hard to reconcile that six protesters were recently convicted of blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and sentenced to 10 years in prison,” he said. “This is a 10-year prison sentence for impacting only a handful of clinic patients, but the bridge protestors were allowed to block an entire interstate, impacting thousands, and not a single arrest was made. This is an example of why regular people no longer trust the government to equally enforce the law.”
Following is an exclusive copy of Sen. Taylor’s letter.
Dear Director Rausch,I would like to make you aware, at approximately 3:10pm, Saturday, February 3, the Memphis Police Department responded to a disturbance on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge crossing the Mississippi River on I-40 in Memphis. A large group of protestors were on the bridge blocking traffic in both directions. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol, also made the scene. The incident was eventually cleared, and traffic was flowing in both directions by approximately 5pm. There is no doubt this was an orchestrated event for maximum impact and disruption because the only other bridge crossing the river was closed for repairs.
Thousands of motorists sat stranded in traffic for two hours while misguided individuals attempted to make a political statement. One Arkansas resident told me he made an attempt to get his wife to the VA hospital in Memphis and instead had to reroute and take her to the emergency room in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Additionally, there are social media accounts of someone being airlifted to a Memphis area hospital because traffic was blocked.
The unlawful commandeering of Memphis bridges is becoming an all-too-common occurrence. These types of bridge closures add to the general feeling of lawlessness in Memphis. We must have law and order! It is unacceptable that no arrests were made during this protest when such actions are already crimes under Tennessee law. The bridge was also taken over by protesters following George Floyd’s death and Tyree Nichols’ death more recently. Because there have been no consequences to this illegal protest tactic, this important bridge becomes a frequent target for protests. No one in recent memory has ever been criminally charged with such an action.
Although I am thankful for all our law enforcement agencies who worked to end this illegal commandeering of the Mississippi River bridge, I am perplexed as to why no arrests were made.
Memphians’ right to free speech and protest are protected by the United States Constitution and enshrined in the Bill of Rights; however, our right to free speech does not allow one to violate the law in protest in the process of exercising this right. These protesters could have protested at a Memphis City Council meeting or Shelby County Commission meeting and spoken to our elected representatives who were the supposed audience for this protest, but they chose to break the law instead and create a dangerous situation for thousands of motorists.
It is hard to reconcile that six protesters were recently convicted of blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and sentenced to 10 years in prison. This is a 10-year prison sentence for impacting only a handful of clinic patients, but the bridge protestors were allowed to block an entire interstate, impacting thousands, and not a single arrest was made. This is an example of why regular people no longer trust the government to equally enforce the law.
Therefore, I am respectfully requesting the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigate this illegal protest to determine which individuals are responsible for this action and refer your findings to the appropriate office to be fully prosecuted. Such an investigation and subsequent prosecution will serve as a deterrent to future illegal protests and help restore law and order to Memphis. Our great state cannot be successful if the chaos in Memphis continues!
