Latest news with #violenceinterruption
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Indictment: 21 Days of Peace violence interrupters fired 43 shots in March incident
Indictment: 21 Days of Peace violence interrupters fired 43 shots in March incident originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Two men who worked for the Minneapolis violence interruption group 21 Days of Peace have been indicted by a federal grand jury with gun crimes following a March incident in which they fired dozens of shots. Alvin Anthony Watkins, Jr., 50, of St. Anthony, and Kashmir Khaliffa McReynolds, 35, of Minneapolis, are facing federal charges, with the U.S. Attorney's Office saying they "recklessly fired approximately 43 bullets into the dark, in a residential neighborhood in North Minneapolis" on Monday, Mar. 10. The pair had allegedly just finished their shifts attending a barbecue hosted by 21 Days of Peace when a still-unidentified assailant fired around 30 shots in their direction. "Although McReynolds did not see a person fire the gunshots, he fired numerous rounds in the general direction from which he thought the gunshots had originated, then ran to the other side of the block and continued shooting," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "He also supplied Watkins with another gun, which Watkins fired a number of times. McReynolds knew Watkins was prohibited from carrying and possessing firearms due to his prior felony convictions. In total, McReynolds and Watkins fired approximately 43 rounds of ammunition." 21 Days of Peace is a violence interruption group under the umbrella of Salem Inc., the nonprofit founded by the Rev. Jerry McAfee that has received millions of dollars in funding via the Minnesota Legislature and The City of Minneapolis in recent years."McReynolds and Watkins were paid taxpayer money to bring peace to the community. Instead, they brought the very violence they claimed to be interrupting. This is outrageous. These defendants will be held to account," said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. But speaking to the Star Tribune, the Rev. McAfee questioned why the violence interrupters have been charged at the federal level given their case is also with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. He also questioned why the pair have been charged and nobody has been arrested for firing upon them on the first place, saying: "It's interesting: They fired at 'em 30 times, you got nothing?" This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Knoxville hires national group for violence interruption work over nonprofits' objections
The Knoxville City Council approved a new violence interruption contract that will bring in the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform to lead efforts in the city for up to a year. Council members previously postponed their vote on the contract and asked for a community meeting to hear from groups already doing the work locally. In the end, they went with Mayor Indya Kincannon's plan. The contract will pay NICJR to hire staff in Knoxville and spearhead the efforts that community groups such as Turn Up Knox and Renounce Denounce have undertaken: connecting those at-risk for gun violence with the resources they need to break the cycle. Knoxville has been without a major city-funded violence interruption program since officials terminated Turn Up Knox's contract in early 2025. "Approving this will help us get violence interrupters back on the streets," Kincannon said. But council members Amelia Parker, Seema Singh and Charles Thomas ‒ who all voted against the contract ‒ argued the local nonprofits should be the ones getting taxpayer dollars. "We're got people on the ground who have been doing really good work ‒ data shows they've been doing good work," Thomas said. "They're telling us this is not what's needed. I don't know who else would know better than them." NICJR is a national violence reduction organization from California that has been working with Knoxville in other ways for almost two years, providing coaching and training to city staff and local community partners. The new contract adds $519,750 to the existing contract so NICJR will manage community violence intervention programming as well. The total amount the group will be paid is $826,800. NICJR will hire and manage five messengers to serve as life coaches and outreach workers. Community partners could apply for those positions, though Rashaad Woods, director of the community organization Renounce Denounce, cautioned members of existing groups that applying for the jobs could create a conflict of interest. The contract could last up to a year, and city officials said the goal is for a local community partner to replace NICJR. The city could end the contract early if it feels a community partner is ready, Kincannon said April 29. Knoxville cut ties with Turn Up Knox, the nonprofit it recruited in 2022 to connect those at-risk for gun violence, in February after a dispute between executive director Denzel Grant and city officials. The disruption left the future of violence intervention in Knoxville in flux. On April 29, Kincannon's administration proposed a solution: pay the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform to create a team of local leaders who are already doing violence intervention to replace Turn Up Knox. LaKenya Middlebrook, the director of Knoxville's office of community safety and empowerment, said her team doesn't have the capacity to support Turn up Knox and its work. The contract would take the pressure off that office and allow experts from National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform to fill the gap. Dissenters accused Kincannon of attempting to reinvent the wheel despite local groups' success in violence interruption last year. Other concerns included a lack of financial support for local community partners, outsourcing management to an out-of-state organization, a vague contract itself and hasty approval without a wider community conversation. Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville hires national group for violence interruption work
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Knoxville City Council candidates keep violence interruption front and center
Knoxville violence interruption workers and advocates are making sure their mission stays in the public eye by running for city council this year. The neighborhoods that have been harmed by youth gun violence are in District 6, where Councilmember Gwen McKenzie is term-limited. Candidates Denzel Grant, director of Turn Up Knox; Stan Johnson, executive director and co-founder of SEEED; and Lawrence Williams, a pastor, all work in the violence interruption space. they're joined in the race by Sam Brown, Charles Frazier and George Raudenbush III. Making room at the table: The race for District 6 is crowded, with six candidates stepping up to run for the open seat. Several have been advocates for the city council to pressure Mayor Indya Kincannon to allocate more money for local violence interruption groups. Why it matters: Three of the six candidates said they're running to uplift community voices in violence interruption spaces. Presumably, it'll be a prominent talking point during the primary campaign, especially after the Knoxville City Council allowed the mayor to pay the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform to spearhead violence interruption here instead of local nonprofits. Why the election change will have an impact: The new election system endorsed by voters in 2024 means only residents of a district can vote in that district's elections. Whatever voters decide is a priority will dominate the race. The top two candidates in the primary election will move on to the Nov. 4 general election. Get prepared: There's still a few months until the August primary, and Knox News will have voter's guides out before early voting so you can study up. In the meantime, you can get familiar with the candidates in your district the list at If you don't know which district you live in, put your address in at For conservative Knox County, no news is good news on the budget. That's reflected in Mayor Glenn Jacobs' proposal for the coming year, where the main highlights were $5 million in increased funding for the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Jacobs supporting Knox County Schools' full budget request. Property tax rates will not change if it's approved as proposed. The increased funding for KCSO will pay for overtime, funding for officers' pensions, raises, increased contract costs, new body cameras, new tasers and new vehicles. Body camera funding increases: The budget increase for body cameras comes as KCSO's policy is under scrutiny. Knox News was first to report the SWAT team members who shot and killed the South-Doyle High School student were not wearing bodycams during the raid on 18-year-old Daevon Montez Saint-Germain's home. SWAT team members shot and killed Saint-Germain. Neighbors and elected officials put pressure on KCSO to require body cameras, which Spangler told community members he did a month after the Saint-Germain's killing. What's happening this week: The Knox County Commission will listen to public input on the budget 4 p.m. May 19 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building, 400 Main St. The Knox County Commission will vote on the budget at 5p.m. May 19 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building, 400 Main St. Want to study up? Knox County's budget is at Click the finance option under the government tab. The proposed budget is at the top of the page. The Knoxville City Council is analyzing its own rules as part of a process it hopes to repeat regularly, similar to how the county commission reviews its' rules routinely. Why its relevant: The public comment section of meetings will be reviewed later this month. It loomed large last year, as demonstrations at meetings arose periodically, and were an ongoing point of friction between council members and pro-Palestinian demonstrators who effectively used the council's rules to redirect the focus of meetings from agenda items to the Israel-Hamas War. Council members grew exasperated by meetings that stretched for hours. Demonstrators pointed out that if the council refused to address their concerns about what could be done locally to influence the war, they would use the legal means available to them to make their points. Setting up a debate: Council member Amelia Parker, who represents the whole city, was an advocate for expanded public forum during the demonstrations, while most other members were quiet or supported Kincannon's efforts to keep the meeting moving. Now, Parker is on the council committee that's set to examine how public comment works. Happening this week: Parker is hosting an information session to talk about public forum rules from 6:30-8 p.m. May 27 via Zoom. Registration is required at the QR code on Parker's Facebook page. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned an effort by Knox County Commissioner Andy Fox to add an extra layer to the county's applications for federal grants. Fox's proposal: The county's grants department applies for state and federal help and then seeks the commission's approval before accepting the money. Fox wants commissioners to know before the department even sends in the application. Commissioners would be able to approve or deny the application, and they could also postpone it (potentially past the deadline). Why it's back The commission voted to delay a vote on Fox's proposal, so now its on their agenda again for this month. Important date: The commission will meet at 5 p.m. April May 19 in the main assembly room of the City-County Building at 400 Main St. Here are some news highlights from last week: Tyler Whetstone, Myron Thompson and Kelly Puente broke the news the the Tennessee Highway Patrol is now partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the federal agency's most aggressive program Keenan Thomas wrote about former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's new role Hayden Dunbar highlighted the history of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center on its 50th anniversary Allison Kiehl explained the new "Junk Fees Rule" I caught up with former supporters of Knox County Trustee Justin Biggs and politicos to talk about his spending Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville City Council candidates keep violence interruption out front
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Learn about Knoxville's controversial violence interruption contract at May 12 meeting
After heated debate at the April 29 Knoxville City Council meeting over the city's plans for its violence interruption efforts, a public meeting on May 12 will invite community discussion of the proposed contract ahead of any vote on it. The disagreement began due to the proposed contract extension between the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) and the city of Knoxville. After the debate at the last city council meeting, the vote on the contract was postponed for two weeks to allow a chance to discuss it further. Community members, violence interruption groups and councilmembers will have the chance to speak to NICJR representatives, who will share a presentation with the community and answer any questions at the 6-7 p.m. May 12 meeting. Councilmember Gwen McKenzie will lead the discussion for the public violence interruption contract meeting at Logan Temple AME Zion Church, 2744 Selma Ave. The discussion is meant to inform councilmembers before they vote on the contract at 6 p.m. May 13 in the man assembly room of the City-County Building. NICJR is a national community-based violence reduction organization out of California that has been working with Knoxville for almost two years, providing coaching and training to city staff and local community partners. The new contract would go a step further by adding $519,750 to the previous contract to pay NICJR to manage community violence intervention programming in addition to what the previous contracts did. The total price tag is $826,800. NICJR would hire and manage five messengers to serve as life coaches and outreach workers. Community partners could apply for those positions. LaKenya Middlebrook, director of the Office of Community Safety and Empowerment (OCSE), said the contract would reduce the administrative and technical duties handled by the office as work increases and more community partners join the violence interruption efforts. The proposed contract could last up to a year, and city officials said the goal is for a local community partner to replace NICJR. The city could end the contract early if it feels a community partner is ready, Mayor Indya Kincannon said April 29. The resolution drew pushback from violence interruption organization leadership, including Denzel Grant, director of TurnUp Knox, and Rashaad Woods, director of Renounce Denounce, as well as from councilmembers Gwen McKenzie, Amelia Parker, Charles Thomas and Seema Sigh. Some dissenters have accused the city of attempting to reinvent the wheel on violence interruption, despite record success in violence interruption last year. Other concerns include a lack of financial support for local community partners, outsourcing management to an out-of-state organization, vagueness in the contract itself and hasty approval without community discourse. "Like I said, NICJR is definitely needed for their training and technical assistance, we can benefit from those things, but I think you have to have the people doing the work, organizations doing the work, those are the ones that need to be funded and those are the ones that need to be trained and brought to the table to make sure we're putting the work together in a way that the community benefits," Grant told Knox News. In addition, Grant said the contract should specify its terms and goals better. Despite the concerns, Grant looks forward to the May 12 meeting to discuss the contract in more depth so councilmembers, community partners and community members can be more involved. Renounce Denounce has developed a local network that is essential in targeting and contacting at-risk individuals, which only a local organization with boots on the ground can provide, as opposed to an out-of-state entity, according to Woods. "For these local grassroots organizations that are already doing that type of work, there should have been more support written into the contract for that. Now, as far as the administrative piece and the training that they offer, you can never have enough training," Woods told Knox News. If the contract is approved, ideally NICJR would provide administrative assistance and training, while funding would be distributed among local organizations to build workforce capacity for local groups, Woods said. Myron Thompson covers public safety for Knox News. Email: Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville council, public can learn about violence interruption effort
