Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D) may be making a comeback after GOP lawmakers ousted him and his running mate, Rep. Justin Pearson (D), from the state House on Thursday.
Jones and Pearson, both Black, and one other Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Gloria Johnson — which is white and is not selected out – participated in the protest inside the House chamber after a a mass shooting that left three children and three adults dead in a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27. Republicans, who brought a two-thirds majority in the state House, reacted by voting to expel Jones and Pearson.
Jones and Pearson were immediately removed and forced to give up their committee duties, leaving their seats empty. The county legislature could fill the vacancy — and in Jones’ case, the Nashville Metropolitan Council appears to have the votes needed to restore him to his post, according to The Tennessean.
Twenty-three of the 40 members on the council confirmed to NBC News that they would vote to reinstate Jones. They can vote as soon as Monday, during a special meeting to discuss the vacancy.
Jones told CNN on Friday that he doesn’t see it as the end of his political career.
“This extreme tactic to drive us away and try to humiliate us is just putting the world in the spotlight on Tennessee, so I’m going to go back because … in a hostile environment,” Jones said.
On Thursday, Jones told lawmakers at a hearing: “What we’re seeing now is a spectacle. What we’re seeing now is a lynch mob gathered not to destroy me, but our democratic process.
He continued: “I stand up for young people – many of whom can’t vote yet, many of whom are disenfranchised – but all of whom are terrified by the continuing mass shootings that plague our country and haunt this nation.”
At statement after the votes, the Tennessee House GOP Caucus called the protest “immoral” and disruptive.
“If elected to return and serve our constituents in the Tennessee House of Representatives, we hope they will act like the thousands who have come before them – about our institutions, our colleagues, and the seats they hold,” the statement continued.
But the expulsion caught the eye of President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama both condemned it.
“Three children and three officers were shot dead in another mass shooting. And what is the focus of GOP officials? Punishing lawmakers who join thousands of peaceful protesters demanding action. It’s shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent,” Biden tweeted Thursday.
“No elected official should lose their job just for raising their voice — especially when it’s for our children,” Obama tweeted.