Remember when trans-identifying Audrey Hale shot up a Christian school in Nashville killing six people, including three children? News got out that she'd left a manifesto, but good luck getting a look at it. A year ago, we got word that two police officers accused of leaking Hale's manifesto were due to be fired. The release of Hale's manifesto was held up several times reportedly due to a pair of lawsuits seeking to keep it concealed. The shooting was in March of 2023; in July of 2024 the Associated Press reported that the manifesto couldn't be released because the victims' families were claiming copyright ownership.

LGBTQ groups said the release of the manifesto could have "serious consequences" for their community. The Washington Post wouldn't release Hale's manifesto claiming it would "retraumatize" the children, but as Brad Slager pointed out, the paper didn't have any qualms against releasing other killers' manifestos — far from it.

A suspect in last week's execution of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was arrested Monday, and among his possessions were a gun, a suppressor, and a two-page handwritten manifesto. CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez reports that police officials have already been sharing the manifesto with CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller.

The suspect was arrested today and a CNN analyst is already getting quotes from the manifesto from police. What's the policy here? Why was Hale's, and only Hale's, kept under lock and key until it was finally leaked?

Fun experiment: If you enter "Audrey Hale" in Google's search bar, the first thing it returns is the name "Aiden Hale." Try it.