Anita Wadhwani

Anita Wadhwani

[email protected]

Anita Wadhwani is a senior reporter for The Tennessee Lookout. The Tennessee AP Broadcasters and Media (TAPME) named her Journalist of the Year in 2019 as well as giving her the Malcolm Law Award for Investigative Journalism. Wadhwani is formerly an investigative reporter with The Tennessean who focused on the impact of public policies on the people and place across Tennessee. She is a graduate of Columbia University in New York and the University of California at Berkeley School of Journalism. Wadhwani lives in Nashville with her partner and two children.

Democrats drop Tennessee redistricting challenge; two other legal challenges ongoing
Tennessee

Democrats drop Tennessee redistricting challenge; two other legal challenges ongoing

Jun 09, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
Tennessee Democrats have voluntarily dismissed a federal lawsuit challenging a Republican-led redistricting process that carved majority-Black, majority Democratic Memphis into three U.S. House districts. The now-dismissed challenge was brought by the Tennessee Democratic Party, four Democrats running for U.S. House...
Tennessee to report disabled immigrant kids getting public healthcare to ICE, advocates say
Tennessee

Tennessee to report disabled immigrant kids getting public healthcare to ICE, advocates say

Jun 09, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
Scores of low-income immigrant children living with critical illnesses could soon lose access to life-sustaining medical care after Tennessee officials directed public health departments to verify their immigration status and report to the federal government, according to the Tennessee Justice...
Lawsuit seeks to halt Tennessee law making illegal immigration a state crime
Tennessee

Lawsuit seeks to halt Tennessee law making illegal immigration a state crime

Jun 05, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
The ACLU and National Immigration Law Center on Thursday filed a legal challenge to a new Tennessee law that makes it a crime for immigrants without legal status to enter or remain in the state. The federal lawsuit, filed on...
As June kicks off Pride celebrations, Tennessee designates it ‘nuclear family month’
Tennessee

As June kicks off Pride celebrations, Tennessee designates it ‘nuclear family month’

Jun 04, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
The month of June, long marked by celebrations of LGBTQ Pride, has been designated “nuclear family month” in Tennessee after Republican lawmakers earlier this year voted to adopt a resolution that says “one husband, one wife and any biological, adopted...
Volunteer watchers detail harassment, surveillance and pushback from Memphis Safe Task Force
Tennessee

Volunteer watchers detail harassment, surveillance and pushback from Memphis Safe Task Force

Jun 02, 2026
Anita Wadhwani Cassandra Stephenson
In the eight months since President Donald Trump established the Memphis Safe Task Force, volunteer observers say they have been subject to harassment, intimidation, surveillance and — in one instance — assault and arrest as they tried to document the...
Watchdog group accuses Blanche of misconduct in Tennessee prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Tennessee

Watchdog group accuses Blanche of misconduct in Tennessee prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

May 27, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
A national watchdog group alleges Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche breached ethical rules in the Tennessee prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was cleared last week of criminal charges after a judge concluded the prosecution had been vindictive. In a...
Three-judge panel upholds Tennessee redistricting
Tennessee

Three-judge panel upholds Tennessee redistricting

May 26, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
A three-judge state panel on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge to Tennessee’s redrawn congressional maps brought by the state chapter of the NAACP, its president, a state lawmaker and a congressional candidate. The unanimous decision by the court keeps intact...
Three federal challenges to Tennessee redistricting consolidated into one case
Tennessee

Three federal challenges to Tennessee redistricting now assigned to same judge

May 19, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
A federal judge has ordered a legal challenge to Tennessee’s redrawn congressional districts — brought by the ACLU on behalf of voters, clergy and nonprofits in Memphis — be assigned to the same judge hearing two other federal challenges. Chief...
Longtime US Rep. Cohen announces he won’t run in Tennessee’s gerrymandered districts, ends campaign
Tennessee

Longtime US Rep. Cohen announces he won’t run in Tennessee’s gerrymandered districts, ends campaign

May 15, 2026
Cassandra Stephenson Anita Wadhwani Sam Stockard Adam Friedman
Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen will not run for reelection in any of the three gerrymandered districts that now include Memphis after the Tennessee Legislature passed a new map last week, splitting up the region he served for more than...
NAACP, League of Women Voters allege Tennessee redistricting intentionally discriminates
Tennessee

NAACP, League of Women Voters allege Tennessee redistricting intentionally discriminates

May 14, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
Tennessee’s redrawn congressional voting map intentionally discriminates against Black voters in Memphis, unconstitutionally undermining fair representation for partisan and racial advantage, a lawsuit filed Thursday by civil and voting rights groups alleges. Filed in federal court by the Tennessee branches...
ACLU lawsuit: ‘Startling pattern’ of First Amendment violations by Memphis Safe Task Force
Tennessee

ACLU lawsuit: ‘Startling pattern’ of First Amendment violations by Memphis Safe Task Force

May 14, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
Memphis Safe Task Force agents are engaging in a “startling pattern of retaliation, intimidation, and harassment” against bystanders who record their activities, a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleges. Filed Wednesday on behalf of four Memphis...
Nashville’s sheriff says he’s exempt from bill lawmakers passed mandating agreements with ICE
Tennessee

Nashville’s sheriff says he’s exempt from bill lawmakers passed mandating agreements with ICE

May 13, 2026
Anita Wadhwani
The Tennessee Legislature passed a measure requiring every sheriff in the state to enter an agreement with the federal government to enforce immigration law, but the leader of one of the state’s largest departments is disputing whether it applies to...