DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The half million dollar abuse of power lawsuit filed by former alderman Jenna Amacher against the city she once served has been closed by federal Judge Travis R. McDonough almost two years after it was first filed.

“For the reasons stated in the memorandum opinion entered contemporaneously herewith, the motions for summary judgment filed by Defendants the City of Tullahoma, Tennessee, Ray Knowis, Jennifer Moody, Scott van Velsor and Jim Woodward are granted in part,” the federal judge wrote this past week. “Plaintiff Jenna Amacher’s claims under § 1983 for First Amendment retaliation, are hereby dismissed with prejudice. The Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Amacher’s state-law malicious-prosecution claim, and that claim is dismissed without prejudice. The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case.”

The term “with prejudice” means the case cannot be refiled. The part that was dismissed without prejudice means it can be brought back if more substantive evidence is brought forth.

Amacher served as an alderman in Tullahoma until deciding not to run for reelection in 2024. It was during that time that she filed a lawsuit against the city and individuals claiming her First Amendment rights were violated.

“This lawsuit is about the abusive use of state governmental power to intimidate and harm a city lawmaker in vindictive retaliation for her speech and political views,” she stated in her suit, pointing to episodes where she said she was discriminated against due to her posts on social media and her outspoken views.

“Amacher drew the ire of Mayor Ray Knowis. Namely, as an act of satire, Amacher held a redneck Christmas party with her family,” the suit read, referring to a social media post Amacher was in. “Among other decorations, the Confederate flag was displayed. Subsequent to this event involving the Confederate flag, Mayor Knowis went on record rebuking Amacher for her speech.”

She also said she brought the ire of some city officials by speaking out against the ThinkTullahoma2040 Comprehensive Plan and by angering then city administrator Jennifer Moody.

“Notwithstanding the law, Administrator Moody and Mayor Knowis conspired among themselves, and also with private citizens Woodard and van Velsor, to instigate frivolous proceedings to oust Plaintiff Amacher,” the suit claimed. “Woodard and van Velsor collected signatures calling for the ouster of Amacher, Knowis called upon the services of the local District Attorney. Notably, this District Attorney was another individual who hated Amacher. Partly he hated her because he disagreed with her politics, but most of all, he hated her because she had sued the District Attorney’s Office before for misconduct.”

While Amacher claimed conspiracy that led to an attempted ouster and the threat of legal proceedings against her, the court did not find it rose to a Constitutional violation.

“Amacher’s allegations do not involve physical abuse or any other actions that shock the conscious in a way that rises to the level of a constitutional violation,” the judge found. “As a result, Amacher’s complaint fails to state a § 1983 claim based on a violation of her substantive due process rights. Accordingly, the Court will grant Defendants’ motions for judgment on the pleadings as it relates to Amacher’s § 1983 substantive due process claim.”

The full lawsuit, memorandum and order can be found here: