The editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, Michael Patrick Leahy, has been directed by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge l'Ashea Myles to appear in court on Monday for a show cause hearing. The hearing aims to determine if The Star violated any court orders by publishing a series of stories that disclosed writings from the journals of the shooter involved in the Nashville Covenant School mass shooting case.

Law enforcement authorities had previously opposed The Star's attempts to obtain and release the shooter's journal publicly, including sections identified by the Metro Nashville Police as a manifesto. Despite a lawsuit filed by The Tennessee Star, the documents have yet to be made available to the public.

The publication, owned by Star News Digital Media, has been focused on obtaining the documents and shedding light on their contents. Leahy, who also serves as the CEO of the media company, exclusively obtained approximately 80 pages of the writings from a source. The Tennessee Star faced potential contempt charges and even jail time for publishing the stories, as per Leahy's statements.

Among the details revealed in The Star's coverage was the shooter's sense of social isolation and perceived inability to live independently. The writings also mentioned the individual's struggles with mental health and their self-identification as a transgender man despite being biologically female. These revelations brought attention to the shooter's purported autism diagnosis.

The decision to summon Leahy to court has sparked a debate around First Amendment rights. Former acting US Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark expressed support for The Tennessee Star's actions, asserting that the publication had the right to publish the stories. In an online post, Clark emphasized the importance of a free press in disseminating information that could prevent harm and criticized the perceived lack of judgment in certain aspects of the state judiciary.

Leahy has announced that he will appear in court accompanied by his attorneys, Nick Barry from America First Legal and Daniel Horwitz, a renowned First Amendment attorney based in Nashville.

Monday's show cause hearing will determine whether The Tennessee Star violated any court orders in publishing their news stories regarding the shooter's writings.