Tennessee Republicans claim they were 'obliged' to expel Democrats over peaceful protest

Tennessee Republicans expelled state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson on Thursday, but fell short of expelling Rep. Gloria Johnson. All three Democratic lawmakers participated in the same protest calling for “gun reform now” following the recent school shooting in Nashville, but Jones was expelled on a 72-25 vote and Pearson was expelled on a 69-26 vote, while Republicans fell just short of mustering the two-thirds supermajority needed to expel Johnson. She survived after a 65-30 vote.

During the expulsion proceedings, two former House members raised a defense of Johnson, saying that while she had gone with Jones and Pearson to the well of the House without being recognized, she had not taken the bullhorn to lead chants. Johnson, though, pointed to a different reason she survived the expulsion vote, telling CNN, “I think it’s pretty clear. I’m a 60-year-old white woman and they are two young Black men.”

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