- Justin Jones became the first Tennessee House representative to be expelled for breaking decorum rules on April 6 for leading a chant for gun reform on the floor of the House chamber.
- Nashville’s council is responsible for appointing an interim representative to fill the vacancy for the District 52 House seat until a special election is held.
- Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, was also expelled for his role in the protest. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, who stood alongside Jones and Pearson, escaped expulsion by one vote.
Rep. Justin Jones left the Tennessee Capitol on April 6, expelled from the House of Representatives for leading a gun-control protest from the floor following a deadly Nashville school shooting. On Monday, hundreds of jubilant supporters marched alongside him as he walked up the Capitol steps to take back his seat.
“I want to welcome the people back to the people’s house. I want to welcome democracy back to the people’s house,” Jones said in his first remarks back on the floor. “Last Thursday, members tried to crucify democracy, but today we have a resurrection.”
In one of its first legislative actions following a shooting at a Nashville elementary school that killed six people, the House Republican supermajority ejected Jones with a 72-25 vote for defying House decorum — making Jones the first House member in state history to be removed from elected office for a decorum violation.
Members of the House called for the expulsion of Jones, D-Nashville, Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, and Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville — dubbed the “Tennessee Three” — after they approached the House podium between bills during the session without being recognized, breaking chamber rules.
Jones and Pearson used a megaphone to lead protesters in chants for gun reform, sparking calls from Republican leadership to expel the trio to protect the integrity of House rules. The House supermajority expelled Jones and Pearson after hours of fierce debate, but failed by one vote to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to oust Johnson.
Nashville’s progressive-leaning council, responsible for filling the Nashville vacancy, unanimously voted Jones back into the District 52 House seat Monday afternoon in a move intended to send “a strong message to our state government and across the country that we will not tolerate threats to our democracy,” Council member Delishia Porterfield said.
Jones will serve as an interim representative until a special election can be held to permanently fill the position. He is eligible to run for reelection.
Pearson joined Jones and the throng of supporters on the short walk from the historic Metro Nashville Courthouse to the Capitol steps, where Jones picked up a megaphone.
“Today we sent a clear message to Speaker Cameron Sexton that the people will not allow his crimes against democracy to happen without challenge,” he said. “This is not about one person. It’s not about one position. It’s about a movement of people empowered to restore the soul of what this building should represent and that is democracy.”
Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles led Jones in his oath on the steps of the Capitol as cheers erupted from the crowd. When he was done, Jones raised his fist into the air.
Minutes later, Jones walked arm-in-arm with Johnson back into the chamber to raucous cheers from supporters in the galleries. He took his seat just after the House gaveled into session. He had not missed any bill votes since his expulsion Thursday.
Sexton, R-Crossville, who was among those leading the charge for the trio’s expulsion, called on Jones to speak soon after he reclaimed his seat.
“Today, 78,000 people have a voice in this chamber once again,” Jones said. “No expulsion, no attempt to silence us will stop us, but only galvanize and strengthen our movement. We continue to show up in the people’s house. Power to the people!”
Sexton gaveled onlookers in the gallery to order twice before Jones finished his speech.
In Shelby County, at least one of 13 county commissioners has vowed to similarly reappoint Pearson to his house seat. The commission will meet Wednesday to consider the matter.
‘Give them their voice back’
Earlier Monday afternoon, six red and black ribbons affixed to the Nashville Council clerk’s desk memorialized the three children and three adults killed in the Covenant School shooting. Nashville Mayor John Cooper opened the special-called meeting with incisive remarks.
“This afternoon’s vote is unprecedented, but so was the action taken to expel members of the legislature,” Cooper said. “Voters in District 52 elected Justin Jones to be their voice in the statehouse, and that voice was taken away this past week, so let’s give them their voice back.”
Porterfield, who ran against Jones for the District 52 seat and lost in the August 2022 primary, nominated Jones to be reappointed. Voters chose Jones, and they made the right choice, she said.
“Our community members are more than capable of selecting their representative, and their will should have never been undermined,” Porterfield said. “Rep. Jones was honest about who he was: a bold and unapologetic advocate for the community. The people chose their representative.”
Jones won the Nashville Council vote 36-0. Three voting members were absent.
“When I went to the well to speak from the megaphone, I wasn’t going up there as Justin,” Jones said. “I was going up there on behalf of 70,000 people in District 52.”
Jones called for House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, to resign.
As the crowd of supporters holding “No Justin, no peace” signs poured out of the Nashville Courthouse and began their walk to the Tennessee Capitol building after the council’s vote, the public square filled with the sound of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech played to upbeat music.
Expulsions draw national attention
Expelling Pearson and Jones, two of the youngest Black lawmakers in the state’s General Assembly, shrank an already small minority caucus in the state legislature. Johnson, a white woman, said she believed Jones and Pearson were treated differently in their expulsion votes due to their race, an allegation Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, later vehemently denied.
The expulsions brought Tennessee politics to the national stage, putting a rare spotlight on Tennessee Democrats.
Only two other house members have been expelled since the 1800s, and both instances involved criminal charges or sexual misconduct allegations, and ended in bipartisan votes after special committee inquiries.
More:Republicans’ expulsion of 2 Black members draws comparisons to Tennessee’s ‘dark history’
House Republicans pushed for Jones, Pearson and Johnson to be expelled rather than censured to protect House integrity, they said.
“What they did was try to hold up the people’s business on the House floor instead of doing it the way that they should have done it, which they have the means to do,” Sexton said.
As Senate business began Monday, House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland and Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby said they would “welcome” Jones and Pearson back to the chamber if they are reappointed, and advised them to follow chamber protocol.
“Tennessee’s constitution provides a pathway back for expulsion. Should any expelled member be reappointed, we will welcome them,” Lamberth and Faison said in a joint statement. “Like everyone else, they are expected to follow the rules of the House as well as state law.”
They added that Republican members “continue to mourn the six lives lost,” and “remain focused on solutions that ensure every child and parent feels safe in every community.”
Melissa Brown contributed.
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