Released Covenant School Shooter’s Journal Missing Any Evidence Of FBI Claims For Withholding Writings

Image Credit: MNPD / Facebook & canva

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

The now released Covenant School shooter’s journal, part of the so-called “manifesto,” appears to be missing any evidence of claims used for withholding the writings from the public.

According to Metro Nashville Council Member Courtney Johnston last April, the FBI claimed that the manifesto “was a blueprint on total destruction” including a great level of detail on what the shooter had planned to carry out.

Yesterday, The Tennessee Star chose to publish nearly a hundred pages of a handwritten journal that belonged to Audrey Hale. Hale was responsible for the deaths of six people – three adults, and three children – at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in the Green Hills area of Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27th, 2023 before she was shot and killed by officers of Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD.)

The journal, which The Tennessee Star says they obtained by legal means, covers the early part of 2023, right up to the day of Hale’s crimes and was found in her vehicle by law enforcement, along with a spiral notebook that MNPD said contained details of the plan of attack, of which a portion was leaked to and published by conservative pundit Steven Crowder last November. These two books are what were originally called a “manifesto” by Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake.

The Tennessee Star published around fifty articles based on the contents of the journal between June 5th – when they came into possession of images of the pages – and September 3rd before ultimately releasing the writings to the public yesterday.

On the afternoon of the shooting, during a search of the Nashville home Hale had shared with her parents, MNPD officers, along with agents from the FBI and the ATF, found twenty more journals spanning fifteen years, along with other media and a suicide note in which she begged her parents to read her will if she didn’t survive her “massacre” so they would know what to do with her stuffed animals and other possessions.

Hale was nearly thirty at the time of her attack on the school and subsequent murders but writes like a lovelorn teenager in the pages of the journal in which she pines repeatedly for a “brown girl” that she knew in eighth grade and with whom she played basketball. Hale would go on to message the object of her affection – Nashville radio host Paige Patton – just minutes before her killing spree to say a final goodbye.

Filled with poetry about her unrequited love, Hale identified not as “Audrey” but as “Aiden” while writing about her gender identity in the journal. Her ruminations on why she should die included belief that she would be better “as dirt” and that her dead body would “help the earth grow.”

While there is not a definitive reason given in the “manifesto” that the public has seen so far for the “massacre” that Hale planned, legislation banning “gender affirming care” for children that the Tennessee General Assembly passed during the 2023 session became law just five days before Hale showed up at The Covenant School armed and murderous. In an entry one month before the attack, Hale ranted about a lack of respect for disabled people, as well as transgender people, in the U.S.

In her writings, Hale repeatedly talked about wanting to transition, about getting scammed, her difficulties working as a freelance artist, and spoke about calling a phone number for a suicide prevention hotline up to five times in just one day. 

Hale also drew variations of an octagonal symbol throughout the journal pages, some of which are reminiscent of a shooting target. Hale wrote about going to Sumner Gun and Supply to practice her shooting skills. The facility’s website advertises a “Ladies shoot free” discount.

Hale, who may have been autistic, as well as bi-polar – a diagnosis she strongly rejected on page thirteen of her journal –  had been under ongoing treatment for mental health issues at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for more than two decades, starting when she was just six-years-old, as confirmed by The Tennessee Star. 

While it has not been confirmed that Hale was under treatment for her gender dysphoria, the angry statements contained in the leaked pages of the manifesto last November could be seen as being consistent with the side effects of women taking large doses of testosterone.

These side effects can include mood swings, anger and hostility. Women prescribed hormones as part of “gender affirming care” have reported feelings of frustration, anger, and irritability for seemingly no reason. Depending on the dose, some women have also suffered from depression, and in extreme cases, even destabilization of bipolar or schizoaffective disorder.

Towards the end of the journal, as she counted down toward “Death Day,” Hale wrote that “staying stable for life is like staying sober, it’s not reality… new dark matters will form, old ones will return…” She also referenced the infamous 1999 Columbine killers and wrote, “I want my massacre to end in a way that Eric and Dylan would be proud of.”

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.