Former state representative Justin Jones, who was recently expelled by the Tennessee House representatives, could end up reinstated as soon as Monday depending on the actions that Nashville’s metro council chooses to take in order for him to be reappointed.
Jones and fellow Democratic lawmaker Justin Pearson were both expelled by the Republican-controlled state House over their participation in the recent protest calling for increased gun control following the school shooting on March 27 at the Nashville Covenant School.
State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D., who was also in the protest, was the only one of the three Democrats who managed to retain her position without being expelled despite the attempts. Following the expulsion, the Republican House has also had to deal with a number of claims regarding racism, as Johnson who is White was the only one allowed to keep her position while Jones and Pearson, both Black, were expelled.
Jones and Pearson have claimed that their expulsion was a tactic of voter disenfranchisement and voter suppression.
Fox News contributor David Webb however criticized these statements claiming that their “voters are not silenced.” He added that even if the two are not reinstated, the voters would still get to vote in a special election and have a different Democrat represent them. He further argued that all three should have been expelled including Johnson as they had “violated the rules.” He added that this was not a case of racism and that the two had been removed for breaking the rules nor because of racism.
