Tennessee Dems Face Expulsion From State House for Staging ‘Insurrection’

Tennessee House Republicans are seeking to expel Democratic state representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson from the legislature for participating in gun control activists’ “insurrection” at the Tennessee Capitol last week.

The Republicans have filed resolutions accusing them of “disorderly behavior” and intentionally bringing dishonor to the House of Representatives. As a result, the three Democrats have lost their committee assignments.

Last Thursday, the three lawmakers participated in a rally advocating for gun control, which turned chaotic as crowds stormed the Capitol, disrupted official activity with signs and megaphones, and chanted “power to the people” through a megaphone from the House chamber. Speaker of the House, Cameron Sexton (R.), labeled it as an “insurrection,” insisting that they were trying to “incite people.”

The resolutions were introduced by three Republicans and will possibly face a House vote on Thursday.

Gun control protests began after Audrey Hale, a transgender 28-year-old, killed six people at the Covenant School in Nashville on March 27. President Joe Biden has since called for a ban on “assault weapons” in response to the incident.

One of the three Democrats, Justin Jones, has stated that he will not “be intimidated” and that “the people are demanding we act to stop kids from being murdered in school.”