The most documented genocide in history continues as Palestinians are slaughtered everyday by Israeli forces who drop bomb after bomb on schools, refugee camps, homes, hospitals, and aid facilities with the full backing of the U.S. The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal and one of the highest-impact academic journals in the world, estimates that Israel has killed more than 186,000 Palestinians since October 2023. Its July 5th study found the actual death toll is higher than 40,000 because the UN’s toll doesn’t count the thousands of bodies buried under rubble, nor the deaths caused by Israel’s destruction of health facilities in Gaza.

So-called “evacuation orders” force surviving Palestinians into tiny concentration zones where deliberate starvation and disease spread are rampant. Others face torture and sexual abuse in Israeli prisons where systemic assaults by soldiers are well-doucmented, just as they were decades earlier.  

On July 19, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is illegal, and its laws are “tantamount to the crime of apartheid.” However, that hasn’t stopped pro-Israel groups like AIPAC from pumping $100 million into U.S. elections to force out anti-genocide lawmakers and install their candidates. 

As part of the genocide, Israel has also killed record numbers of aid workers and falsely accused the UN agency, UNRWA, of employing terrorists. Israel has never provided proof of its claims, and an international investigation on April 22 found no evidence of terrorism with UNRWA workers. Still, Israeli soldiers have killed at least 284 total aid workers, including 212 from UNRWA.

Please consider giving to this vital UN aid agency – especially as the U.S. funds Israel’s genocide, no matter how many “red lines” it crosses.

Terri Lynn Weaver: TN Lawmaker at Pro-Trump Capitol Attack Jan. 6

 

Rep. Weaver tweet at Capitol on Jan 6.

Tennessee state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver tweets a photo of pro-Trump demonstrations in front of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Source)

January 13, 2021 ~ By Shari Rose

Terri Lynn Weaver Statements & Actions on January 6 in D.C.

Rep. Weaver defends Trump rioters at Capitol on Jan 6

Terri Lynn Weaver describes January 6th as “epic and historic” and falsely blames Antifa for the Capitol insurrection in a now-deleted Facebook post. (Source)

Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver was present at the Capitol building on the day of the pro-Trump mob riot in Washington D.C. Elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2008, the Republican official currently serves on four committees. On January 6, Weaver proudly tweeted a photo of the unmasked crowds at the Capitol and wrote, “Epic and historic day gathering with fellow Patriots from all over the nation DC. #wearerepublic.”

Soon after, pro-Trump rioters mobbed the Capitol building and sought out elected officials in an attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. Five people died, including a Capitol police officer, and multiple active pipe bombs were discovered by authorities on the property. 

Later that day on Facebook, Weaver denied that pro-Trump rioters overtook the Capitol building. Instead, she falsely blamed Antifa for the attack, a conspiracy that has been widely disproven by the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies. Weaver wrote in part: “One word to describe today? Absolutely Epic and Historic … There is a whole lotta propaganda going on that is simply NOT TRUE!! Anything to make us “deplorables” to be the bad guys.”

Terri Lynn Weaver shares conspiracy video days after Capitol attack.

Three days after the Capitol mob attack that left five dead, Weaver tweeted out a conspiratorial video that falsely claims Democrats have stolen the 2020 election. (Source)

Not once has Weaver condemned the violence or apologized for her inflammatory language on social media. As of January 13, seven days after the Capitol attack, Weaver has refused to condemn the coup attempt at the Capitol, including the deaths of five Americans. Rather, she has since sent one tweet on January 9 of a woman declaring “there’s truth out there on the election fraud.” The video goes on to suggest horrifically ludicrous claims, including that Ashli Babbitt was actually a victim of a “social media influence operation.” 

Any failure to condemn violence is a tacit endorsement of more to come. Terri Lynn Weaver’s failure to condemn the coup attempt at the Capitol is a violation of the oath she took to protect the Constitution. There’s no getting around that. And as she continues to spread dangerous conspiracy theories and outright lies on social media, Weaver is adding more fuel to the fire. 

The Democratic Party of Tennessee has condemned Weaver for praising the insurrectionists at the Capitol and called for her resignation. 

Weaver Spreads Incendiary Conspiracy Theories on Social Media & in the Tennessee House

Terri Lynn Weaver shares stop the steal event on Facebook

Weaver implores her Facebook followers to join a “Stop the Steal” protest in Nashville on November 28, 2020. (Source)

In the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot, Weaver shared inflammatory posts about stolen elections and staying in the fight to keep Trump as president.  On November 28, 2020, Weaver asked her more than 7,000 followers on Facebook to join a “Stop the Steal” rally in Nashville about the false claim that the election was stolen from Trump as the result of election fraud. In December, she retweeted Sebastian Gorka’s call to action to “fight on” in overturning the presidential election results. 

Weaver also has a penchant of spreading bizarre right-wing conspiracy theories and attempting to turn them into Republican policy in Tennessee. For example, Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver co-sponsored a bill in 2009 against the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child because of a fringe right-wing conspiracy that this was an attempt at world domination. 

She once co-sponsored a bill to make the Bible Tennessee’s official state book in 2015 and successfully used state funds to erect a “Monument to the Unborn” in 2018. Weaver also created a bill that declared children born via artificial insemination as “illegitimate” and co-sponsored a 2020 bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. When protesters called for the removal of the bust of KKK member Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Tennessee Capitol in 2019, Weaver responded with “some of my best friends are Black.”

Terri Lynn Weaver poses with her pastor in blackface.

A 2010 photo Weaver posted on Facebook of herself with her pastor, who is wearing blackface. Weaver’s caption said, “Aunt Jemima, you is so sweet.” (Facebook)

Perhaps most infamous of Weaver’s tenure is a 2010 Facebook post of herself posing with her pastor, who is in black face as Aunt Jemima. Weaver’s caption read, “Aunt Jemima, you is so sweet.” In defense of the post, Weaver responded to Nashville Scene with nearly the same line as nine years after: “I’m the least racist of anyone. Some of my greatest friends are Black.”

A petition calling for Terri Lynn Weaver’s resignation is circulating on Change.org, and there is another one on Moveon.org as well.  

More stories: Rigged Elections: A Study of Trump’s Attacks on Elections When He Dislikes the Results

More stories: David Eastman: AK Lawmaker at Pro-Trump Capitol Event on Jan. 6

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Shari Rose

Shari Rose

Owner of Blurred Bylines 💖💜💙

I created Blurred Bylines in an effort to bring stories from marginalized perspectives into the national conversation. As a former copy editor at the largest newspapers in Arizona and Colorado, I’ve seen first-hand the potential of accurate and accessible information to change minds and affect national policy. 

My stories focus on individuals fighting for justice and their own rights as Americans, survivors of violent crime who rebuilt their lives after tragedy, shifting political trends that seek to strip the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups of their freedoms, and forgotten figures in U.S. history whose fights for equality persist today.

Through writing these articles, I stumbled upon the power of search engine optimization (SEO) to attract interested audiences to my writing. In addition to the ad-free and paywall-free stories I write at Blurred Bylines, I also perform SEO services for businesses, nonprofits, and fellow freelancers around the country so they can grow their organizations through search engines. 

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