(ConservativeTimes.org) – Divisions between Democratic and Republican representatives in Tennessee have become deeper after former Representatives Justin Jones, D. and Justin Pearson, D., were expelled Thursday, April 6th from the state House after an anti-gun protest erupted on the floor.
The protest came in the wake of a mass shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school, that left three young students and three employees dead. The shooter, Audrey Hale, identified as transgender, used an assault rifle to gun down the victims.
Jones was among the protestors with a megaphone during the protest chanting “Power to the people” while Tennessee state troopers attempted to quell the flow of protestors into the gallery.
State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D., who also participated in the protest, managed to narrowly avoid expulsion by a single vote leading Jones and Pearson to claim racism and voter suppression was ultimately at the core of the vote.
Tennessee Speaker of the House, Cameron Sexton, R., refutes the claims by Johnson.
“That’s a false narrative on her part,” Sexton, R. said. “It’s unfortunate. She’s trying to put political racism in this, which there was nothing on this. They were all given due process.”
Sexton added that Johnson had “separated herself” from the other protesters during the expulsion hearings saying she “didn’t have a megaphone” and “didn’t yell and scream”.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Tennessee to speak out against the expulsion of the lawmakers, now known as “The Tennessee Three”, and has yet to meet with the families of the victims of the Covenant School mass shooting.
The White House administration has invited the ”Tennessee Three” to the White House. President Biden wants to “thank them for their leadership and courage” and praise the three lawmakers for “standing up for our democratic values.”
As soon as Monday the former representative, Justin Jones, D. may be reappointed to the Tennessee House as Nashville’s metro council makes moves to allow him to reclaim his former seat.
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