A FAMILY’S routine trip took a harrowing turn when five children were snatched from their mother after a traffic stop.

Now, the mother has filed a lawsuit claiming officials engaged in a calculated cover-up.

Bianca Clayborne was traveling through Coffee County, Tennessee, with her partner Deonte Williams and children when they were pulled over for a minor violation in February 2023, reported Tennessee Lookout.

What should’ve been a standard traffic stop escalated when officers searched the vehicle, allegedly finding a small amount of marijuana.

In Tennessee, minor drug possession usually results in a warning, but the police arrested Williams and told Clayborne to follow them to the jail.

Williams admitted to the possession and later pled guilty, but Clayborne denied she had used marijuana. The charge against her was dismissed.

But while Clayborne was parked at the jail to bail out her partner, authorities, without any court order, forcibly removed her children from her car.

The children, ranging in age from a still-breastfeeding four-month-old to seven years old, were taken into state custody where they remained for 55 days, the lawsuit stated.

The suit – targeting the Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers, Coffee County Sheriff’s deputies, and workers with the Department of Children’s Services – alleges the kids were taken without legal grounds.

Tennessee law requires a court petition and a judge’s order before removing a child from their parents, but the lawsuit says these steps were skipped.

“These public officials illegally tore apart and terrorized Clayborne’s family,” the lawsuit said, per the Tennessee Lookout.

“They acted outrageously and unlawfully. Their actions caused severe emotional trauma to Clayborne and each of her five children.”

The lawsuit alleges the decision to remove the children may have been based on a private phone call to Coffee County General Sessions Judge Greg Perry.

The judge was contacted by officials on the scene questioning whether they could legally separate Clayborne from her children.

A recorded conversation shows Coffee County officials discussing taking the children before a legal order was issued.

One officer reportedly told Judge Perry, “Well, momma is not going to give them up without a fight.”

“If we get in the middle of this, there’s going to be a damn lawsuit,” the officer warned as per the lawsuit.

Judge Perry replied that they could arrest Clayborne for disorderly conduct, saying, “You won’t face a lawsuit, I have judicial immunity.”

Perry said his oral order was enough to proceed with the removal.

But Tennessee law “does not permit children to be taken from their parents based on a private telephone call to a judge,” legal filings said.

These public officials illegally tore apart and terrorized Clayborne’s family. They acted outrageously and unlawfully. Their actions caused severe emotional trauma to Clayborne and each of her five children.

Lawsuit filed by Clayborne

LEGAL FIGHT

The children were taken from Clayborne nearly six hours after the traffic stop.

The lawsuit says the Department of Children’s Service tried to cover up the situation by filing the required paperwork after the children were already in state custody.

But the delay wasn’t the only red flag.

Knowing they hadn’t followed proper legal procedures, DCS officials rushed to cover their tracks, making it seem like they had followed the law, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, the document’s timestamp was blurred to hide that it was filed only after the children were illegally taken.

Now, the Clayborne family, represented by a team of Nashville civil rights attorneys, is pushing forward with claims that not only did authorities fail to follow the law, but they also created false records to conceal their mistakes.

The Office of the Tennessee Attorney General declined to comment when approached by The U.S. Sun, saying, “We cannot comment on ongoing litigation.”

The U.S. Sun also reached out to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services but didn’t get a response.