A trio of Tennessee state lawmakers lost their committee assignments and face expulsion after participating in an anti-gun protest last week at the state Capitol, according to WSMV News.
All three are Democrats. They reportedly led a protest from the House floor, demanding more gun control in reaction to the murders of six people—three of them 9-year-old children—at a private Christian school in Nashville. The killer, a 28-year-old transgender person, was killed by Nashville police officers in a daring effort captured on police bodycams.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton stripped Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson of their committee assignments. They used a bullhorn during the protest.
The trio also lost their badges and garage passes, according to published reports.
Fox News reported an expulsion vote could come later this week. Sexton is quoted saying their conduct was “unacceptable.”
CNN reported that Republican State Reps. Andrew Farmer, Bud Hulsey and Gino Bulso filed resolutions calling for expulsion of the three Democrats.
Hundreds of protesters descended on the Capitol building, demanding additional gun restrictions. According to NBC News, Jones and Pearson are both freshman legislators, while Johnson has served in the House since 2019. They have all been “highly critical of the Republican supermajority” and Jones was even banned from the Capitol in 2019 after throwing what NBC News described as “a cup of liquid” at former House Speaker Glen Casada “and other lawmakers” during a protest over a bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Only twice since the Civil War have House members been expelled from that chamber, NBC reported.
The Associated Press is reporting an expulsion vote could come Thursday. In its report, the AP said House Minority Leader Karen Camper described her colleagues’ actions as “good trouble.”
Protesters were removed from the House Gallery by state troopers, and one woman was arrested, according to the Nashville Tennessean. The newspaper also recalled the House in 2016 expelled then-Rep. Jeremy Durham, a Republican from Franklin, over sexual misconduct allegations. The previous expulsion occurred in 1980, when another Republican, Rep. Robert Fisher was expelled for soliciting a bribe in exchange for stopping a piece of legislation.
Last year, the newspaper said, Memphis Democrat State Sen. Katrina Robinson was expelled after being convicted of federal wire fraud.
