Nick Leonardo, who is a legal analyst for NewsChannel 5, is the subject of an order of protection filed with Davidson County General Sessions Court, a court official confirmed to The Tennessee Star on Friday.
The chief clerk for the General Sessions Court told The Star that the release of the order of protection filed against Leonardo was pending “clearance from Metro Legal,” as there is “a juvenile involved in this case,” which he stated meant the clerk’s office had “to make sure that this is not going to be placed under seal.”
The Star was also told Leonardo (pictured above) had not been served with the protection order, but that the matter was turned over to the Davidson County Criminal Court, which will likely have more information by Monday.
Metro Nashville’s government website explains that orders of protection can be obtained to order alleged abusers to stay away from those who file them. The orders can also apply to children and family members of the petitioner, as well as pets. Orders of protection can prevent the recipient from owning firearms, interfering with utility or phone bills, and can order the recipient to pay outstanding child support or move out of shared home.
Leonardo, a Nashville lawyer and former Davidson County judge, was identified by NewsChannel 5 as the outlet’s legal analyst as recently as Tuesday when he offered comment for the station’s coverage of Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the Covenant School killer, and the leak of her manifesto.
An email sent by The Star to the station’s general manager, Lyn Plantinga, which sought to ascertain the nature of NewsChannel 5’s relationship with Leonardo and to obtain a comment about the order of protection, was not answered by press time.
Likewise, Leonardo did not respond to a press inquiry from The Star which asked if he was aware of the order of protection and sought additional details about why it was obtained.
In addition to his legal analysis for local media, Leonardo also represented Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) in 2020, when a social media user accused Jones of standing on a car during a riot in Nashville, and a warrant was filed for his arrest.
The charges were dropped, and Leonardo wrote on social media that the warrant for Jones’ arrest was dropped because he “did not commit a crime,” and seemed to suggest that District Attorney Glenn Funk agreed not to pursue them after a phone call.
Leonardo remained active on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as recently as Tuesday, when he liked the campaign announcement video posted by disgraced former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nick Leonardo” by Nick Leonardo.Â
