Mt. Juliet officials want to stop the owner and operator of a Nashville business from being involved in a future bowling alley there after they said he posted “we were inches away from freedom,” following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Chark Kinsolving, an operator and owner of Eastside Bowl in Madison, posted the comment on social media July 13 in reference to the Pennsylvania shooting that injured Trump.
Kinsolving has apologized for the post, which has since been removed from social media. He said the statement was an “impulsive and thoughtless comment at the spur of the moment.”
He also said on Facebook that, “I never intended to advocate violence or to advocate for violence. That's not where my heart has even been.”
Elected officials in Mt. Juliet have still reacted strongly to the comment.
“The feedback from elected officials is basic outrage,” Mt. Juliet Mayor James Maness said.
Mt. Juliet commissioners gave preliminary approval to a mixed-use development named Golden Bear Place at Beckwith Road and Golden Bear Gateway near Interstate 40. The plan includes 660 homes and a commercial space that includes a bowling alley officials have identified as Eastside Bowl.
“I forgive him, but I don’t want anything to do with him,” Mt. Juliet Commissioner Ray Justice said. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep that individual and his heart out of my community.
“I’ve been in touch with the developers, and they are in lock step with us and are appalled. We’re looking at every aspect to see what our options are to make sure he doesn’t come to Mt. Juliet.”
The developers are Kenneth Powers and Oldacre McDonald, Justice said. Efforts to reach both were unsuccessful. It's not certain how far along business agreements and contracts were on the new Mt. Juliet bowling alley.
Charles Michels, an attorney for the city, said Golden Bear Place and Eastside Bowl have "reached approval statuses whereby, absent significant changes to the plans, there are no remaining approvals that can stop the projects."
The First Amendment would bar government officials from withholding approvals because they disagree with someone’s speech, said Ken Paulson, the director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
Maness said business ownership for the bowl should question whether “they can be economically viable” in Mt. Juliet because of the reaction and whether that would impact how residents patronize the business.
“I don’t want anybody with that type of a mindset against another human being ... operating a business in Mt. Juliet,” Commissioner Scott Hefner said. “You’ve got a first amendment right, but it kind of speaks to what's in his heart."
Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Will Nashville businessman's comment on Trump shooting stop new Mt. Juliet bowling alley
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