Tennessee Republicans expel Democratic lawmaker for protesting on House floor, fail to expel another

On Thursday, the Tennessee State House expelled two Democratic representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, for protesting on the House floor in support of gun reform after the recent shooting in Nashville schools. Democratic State Representative Gloria Johnson was also under consideration for expulsion but the motion failed to pass. The resolution to expel Jones passed with a 72-25 vote while the resolution to expel Pearson passed with a 69-26 vote. A report states that while this was happening, gun control advocates protested outside the Capitol building.

Justin Jones, one of the expelled lawmakers, stated that he protested on the House floor to represent the 78,000 Tennessee citizens he serves. He said that they had brought a megaphone because the representatives on the other side of the aisle had continually cut them off, and “there comes a time when people get sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

He clarified that there was never any encouragement for violence during the protests and stated that the lawmakers’ actions were meant to emphasize their constituents’ lives. He then called out a Republican lawmaker’s statement that the three lawmakers had disturbed the “sacred chamber” of the House. He said the House was supposed to be a place to fight for democracy, not a temple.

Jones, Pearson, and Johnson were among hundreds of demonstrators who protested at the State Capitol on March 30, forcing lawmakers to walk through the crowd while protesting. Later, Jones, Pearson, and Johnson stepped up to the podium and echoed the protesters’ calls. Videos taken at the House floor during the protests showed Pearson and Jones calling for gun control laws and justice, while Johnson stood next to them in solidarity but did not speak.

Both sides of the political spectrum made contentious arguments during the expulsion hearing. Republican Rep. Gino Bulso called Jones’s movements a “mutiny” and demanded his expulsion, while Democratic Rep. Karen D. Camper defended her colleagues, stating that the expulsion demonstrated the suppression of voices instead of democracy. The hearing became more heated when Republican Rep. Sabi Kumar accused Jones of calling him a “brownface” and then Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D) raised the tensions in the room, calling the House hearing a “circus”.

Jones was given his last five minutes of speaking time before his expulsion and promised to support gun control action and continue to show up and fight for democracy, even if the House expelled him.