Author

Devon Heinen
Devon Heinen is a journalist covering U.S. national affairs and specializes in writing long-form features. His reporting on the U.S. Indigenous suicide epidemic as well as on the aftermath of the 2018 mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, won him national awards in narrative feature writing from the Society for Features Journalism. Devon lives in New York City. You can follow him on Threads (@heinendevon) and on Twitter (@DevonHeinen).
Series: A darker shade of red
By: Lookout Staff and Devon Heinen - August 7, 2023
In 2022, Tennessee became fertile ground for far-right activity and the launch of groups on the right wing of the political spectrum, an outgrowth of former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and anti-COVID-19 measures that sparked conspiracy theories. In the five-part series, “A darker shade of red,” writer Devon Heinen unpacks how such groups have proliferated […]
In Tennessee, far-right groups flex newfound muscle
By: Devon Heinen - August 4, 2023
Night had fallen at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It was Sept. 1, 2022. President Joe Biden was about to deliver a televised national primetime address there regarding the condition of the U.S.’s democracy. Independence Hall’s bricks were awash in red light, giving the president a red-and-shadow backdrop. A U.S. flag hung over his left shoulder, […]
“Medical freedom” at the forefront of 2022 Tennessee elections
By: Devon Heinen - August 3, 2023
Tennessee Stands — its founder and executive director is Gary Humble — didn’t slow down. It pumped out social-media posts and email newsletter updates. The group tried to shape state legislation; some of its targeted priorities in 2022 included “medical freedom” and so-called “election integrity.” It used a far-right view of Christianity as a driving […]
Muzzled: COVID-19 and controversy in Tennessee
By: Devon Heinen - August 2, 2023
Around 8, maybe 8:30 a.m. on July 6, 2021, Dr. Michelle Fiscus got to her office at the Tennessee Department of Health. She was running late. Normally, Fiscus would get there around 7 a.m., but that morning, she had a doctor’s appointment. It was her first day back in the office after visiting family out […]
Evolution of the Christian right in Tennessee
By: Devon Heinen - August 1, 2023
Part of the far right in the U.S. is the Christian far right. According to Philip Gorski, chair of Yale University’s sociology department — political sociology and social movements as well as religion are areas of interest for him — the Christian far right in the U.S. has evolved over hundreds of years. Its basic […]
Part one: A darker shade of red
By: Devon Heinen - July 31, 2023
It was dark by the time Michael Miller left the Williamson County Administrative Building on West Main Street in Franklin on Aug. 10, 2021. “Will not comply!” shouted a throng of angry far-right protesters in the parking lot as Miller stepped into the warm, Middle Tennessee night. “Will not comply!” Miller, masked and wearing a […]