It’s time to demand accountability from Tennessee officials. And time to boycott Grace Chapel and Grace Christian Academy until they own up to their role in the murder of Grant Solomon.
When I was little, I had a family member who would tell me, “You gotta clean before you can cook.” That meant if I wanted to help cook dinner, we had to tidy up the kitchen before we started making an additional mess.
And so it is with Governor Bill Lee, the wildly corrupt Tennessee state government, and the upcoming public safety session.
Specifically, before Lee and others focus on extreme protection orders, gun control, and measures to improve school safety, they must address their corruption in the death of 18-year-old Grant Solomon. That includes their refusal to conduct a meaningful investigation into the circumstances of his death.
In short, they need to clean up the mess they have made in the murder of Grant Solomon before they have any credibility on public safety issues.
Why Tennessee officials need to act
Before we go further, let’s examine why Lee and his cronies need to address the Grant Solomon case.
The reason is simple: If people can’t trust the Tennessee government, they won’t trust any legislation that comes from the state government. That’s the case whether it’s gun control, school safety, or the contentious issue of disclosing the so-called Covenant Manifesto. (We support releasing the Manifesto, both so we can better understand how to prevent future shootings and because we have heard from multiple sources that the shooter referenced Grant and Gracie Solomon in her writings. That said, we in no way disrespect those who disagree.)
So why would the Solomon murder cause distrust? The answer is simple: The entire matter has been covered up.
As we’ve discussed many times, nothing about Grant’s death passes the sniff test. Or the common-sense test.
Specific concerns include:
- The conflicting accounts from Grant’s father, Aaron Solomon, of what transpired.
- The failure of the Gallatin police to conduct even a rudimentary investigation into the events around Grant’s death. This failure includes:
- Verifying that Grant’s father, Aaron, actually was using his cellphone to read email at the time of Grant’s injury.
- Reviewing the black box in Grant’s truck to obtain forensic data covering the moments before the accident.
- A failure to identify the three men Aaron claims were with him after the accident. Cell tower data and cell phone geolocation information would be a basic next step in identifying these individuals. Or demonstrating that Aaron’s claims are a fabrication.
- Conducting an autopsy.
- Explaining how Grant was supposedly dragged almost 60 feet across a paved parking lot and into a drainage ditch lined with large stones without abrasions or tissue damage.
- Explaining why Grant’s body did not have bruises consistent with being struck by his truck.
- Explaining how Grant’s cell phone, glasses, and other personal items were found with him in the ditch. These items would typically have been separated from him soon after being struck by his vehicle.
- Explaining how Grant’s cell phone left the scene of the accident, only to show up later.
- Explaining why Aaron lied at Grant’s funeral about how someone found Grant’s phone and became a Christian as a result. No such thing happened.
- Explaining why some of the stones in the ditch were later found underneath other stones, with traces of Grant’s blood on them.
- By the way, where is that baseball bat of Grant’s that went missing the day he died?
- Perpetuating a goofy loop in which those who inquire, including reporters and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are told, “We’ve already investigated the matter. There’s not enough evidence. We may never know what happened.” But that begs the issue: if Gallatin police failed to do anything other than file an accident report, by definition, the department acquired no evidence. And that is the very thing to which we object. We want that evidence collected and processed. We want those responsible held accountable. In other words, this is a cover-up in which Gallatin police won’t own up to their mishandling of the case. And no one wants to rock the boat by demanding accountability.
- The situation is exacerbated by the role of Grace Christian Academy, disgraced pastor Steve Berger, and their ties to corrupt state officials.
To be clear: Grant Solomon was not dragged to his death. Full stop. He was murdered. The only question is who did it.
What we want
What we want and what we ask Tennessee officials to do is simple:
- We want a full, independent, comprehensive investigation into Grant Solomon’s death and the circumstances around it.
- We want transparency.
- We want accountability.
Put another way: How would Governor Lee act if Grant were his son? Or the son of one of his cronies? We believe he’d leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice.
So, parents in Tennessee are left asking the question: If Tennessee officials don’t care what happened to Grant Solomon or the suffering his murder has caused his family and friends, why would I trust these same officials to protect my child? Or me? Or those I love?
As it stands, the answer is clear: Tennessee state officials cannot be trusted.
More on Steve Berger and Grace Chapel
While we’re on the topic, we want to be super direct on the role of Steve Berger, Grace Chapel, and Grace Christian Academy.
Specifically, all three are full of it. All three are complicit in the murder of Grant Solomon.
Berger’s claim that Grant came to see him to ask how to get closer to Jesus is complete bull****.
We don’t believe it.
Grant’s family and friends don’t believe it.
No one with half the common sense God gave a goat believes it.
Think about it. You’re 18. Your sister is allegedly being sexually abused. You visit one of the leading authority figures in your life, your pastor.
What do you discuss? It sure as hell is not how to get closer to Jesus. You stand up for your sister, and you ask for help.
What really happened? At Anglican Watch, we think what happened is exactly what Angie and Gracie, Grant’s sister and mother, say occurred.
Grant asked for help protecting his sister.
And we strongly suspect that Berger told Aaron Solomon about the conversation, breaching pastoral confidentiality.
We believe this led in turn to Grant’s murder.
Can we prove this? No, we can’t. But we are confident that Berger is lying to protect his sorry backside. And we believe he is an accomplice to murder.
So, we are calling on members of Grace Chapel to boycott the school and the church.
As for lawyers for the church and school, their threats, and their claims that the two are separate, we say this: Spare us. (We’re trying hard to keep our comments family-friendly.)
Instead of spending money on lawyers, Grace Chapel and Grace Christian Academy should spend money to investigate why they didn’t honor their obligations as mandated reporters. And to learn why Steve Berger is lying about his meeting with an 18-year-old boy who trusted him.
And the bit about school staff going along when a complaint was made to law enforcement is complete bullcrud. Grace Chapel’s obligation was to file its own report, preferably with child protective services. Going along doesn’t count.
When a child is obviously afraid of an adult, that should be a reason to act decisively to protect the child. So, when Aaron came to pick up Gracie, and she begged not to be made to go, that was the time for the school to report this incident to law enforcement immediately.
In fact, some would say that was the right time to refuse to turn Gracie over to her father. He would likely have called the police, and the school might have been sued. But you know what? When it comes to protecting a child, it’s worth the risk. And it’s worth a knock-down, drag-out courtroom brawl if it comes to it.
Personally, I’d rather lose in court than know I shrugged and turned a child over to an alleged child sexual abuser. But then, that’s how I roll. Obviously, Grace Christian Academy has no qualms about these issues.
When a child is afraid, you don’t force them to do something. You act to protect them. That’s what real men do. That’s what adults do. That’s what Christians do.
Thus, we call bull**** on Steve Berger, Grace Christian Academy, and Grace Chapel. The people involved are nothing more than modern-day Scribes, Pharisees, a-holes, and bullies.
They are not Christian. And all involved should feel free to quote us.
Again, we demand accountability from Gov. Lee, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and other state officials. We demand accountability from the Gallatin police department. We demand accountability from Grace Christian Academy and Chapel.
And we ask the public to join us in these demands. We have an 18-year-old boy murdered and his sister allegedly sexually abused.
We need to act.
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