Tennessee Republicans Face Protests After Expelling 3 Democrats

Tennessee lawmakers expel Democratic officials over alleged House floor protests
The Democratic lawmakers were allegedly protesting against gun violence in the state
The first to be removed by the GOP was Rep. Justin Jones

Tennessee Republicans caused an uproar after they worked to expel Democratic lawmakers in the state over House floor protests against gun violence.

In the first vote, GOP lawmakers expelled Rep. Justin Jones, marking the first time in the state's history that a member of the House had been removed for alleged chamber rules violations.

Tennessee House Republicans Expel Three Democrats

In their second vote, the House GOP voted to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson but failed to follow through. Following that particular vote, cheers erupted in the chamber, with some lawmakers chanting, "Gloria!"

In the expulsion of Jones, the House voted unanimously 72-25, but the effort to remove Johnson failed to reach the required two-thirds majority and only resulted in a 65-30 tally. On Thursday, lawmakers will hold the next and final vote that targets Rep. Justin Pearson, as per NBC News.

The Republican lawmakers' votes immediately drew attention nationwide to the partisan divisions that have shaken the Tennessee Legislature in the last few months. The votes also came amid protesters outside the state House as Republicans started the proceedings against the three Democrats.

In a statement, Jones held a speech that he was granted in defense of himself ahead of the vote where he argued that the situation was where the jury had already publicly announced the verdict. He noted that there was a lynch mob that assembled not for him but for the democratic process.

He said that his participation in the protests amounted to him "standing for those young people," whom he said many were not even capable of voting yet. However, Jones argued that they were terrified over the continuous trend of mass shootings that have plagued the state and the United States.

Causing Disorder to the House

The demonstrators outside the Tennessee State Capitol roared in opposition to the votes and called for lawmakers to take immediate action on gun control in the region. According to Fox News, many people who attended protests chanted, "Free, free, free the Tennessee Three" as lawmakers made their way into the chamber.

Before the votes, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said that the three targeted Democrats had a chance for due process. This was in a state that had an overwhelming Republican presence. Sexton said that the situation had nothing to do with the protest outside of the House chamber or outside of the Capitol. He argued that the expulsions were due to the three members' actions on the House floor.

The formal resolutions against the three Democrats read that they "did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives." Prior to the vote, Tennessee House Republicans stripped the memberships of the three Democrats and deactivated their ID badges.

Lawmakers' expulsion is a rare occurrence in the state's history, with reporter Natalie Allison posting on Twitter that officials did not do so even against a Republican legislator who was accused of sexually assaulting three teenage girls, said the New York Times.