The American Civil Liberties Union is urging Gov. Bill Lee to veto a bill that would crack down on protesters, saying it would chill free speech by threatening people with "overly harsh criminal penalties" and mark "a giant leap in the wrong direction" on criminal justice reform.
For two months, a group of protesters has spent day and night occupying a space outside the Tennessee state Capitol in Nashville. Demonstrators camping at War Memorial Plaza have reclaimed it as "the People's Plaza" and demanded an audience with Lee to discuss defunding law enforcement and removing the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Capitol.
Lee hasn't met with the protesters.
Read more on the Knoxville News Sentinel website.