The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted on Wednesday to send Democrat Justin Pearson back to the Tennessee House of Representatives as an interim representative, less than one week after he was ousted from the legislative body for his role in disrupting proceedings on the House floor.
The vote comes after the other Democrat who was expelled last week, Justin Jones, was also unanimously appointed as an interim representative by Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County on Monday. Both lawmakers will serve in an interim capacity and will need to win their respective special elections in order to formally win back their seats.
“Nashville thought they could silence democracy, but they didn’t know that the Shelby County Commission was filled with some courageous leaders,” Pearson said after the vote on Wednesday.
“You can’t expel hope,” he added. “You can’t expel justice. You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight. We look forward to continuing to fight. Continuing to advocate. Until justice rolls down like water. And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Let’s get back to work.”
House Speaker Cameron Sexton held a vote to expel Jones, Pearson and state Representative Gloria Johnson last week after the trio encouraged raucous protesters in the House chambers. Protesters stood on a balcony within the chambers chanting, “Fascists! Fascists!” Demonstrators also blocked several entryways and exits, forcing state troopers to step in to assist members in moving throughout the building. The demonstration was held in response to a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that killed six people, including three children.
Jones was expelled by a vote of 72-to-25, while the House voted 69-to-26 to expel Pearson. A vote to expel Johnson failed by one vote.
“What they did is they hijacked the House floor which has never been done in our history,” Sexton told National Review of the three lawmakers. “They pulled out a bullhorn. They weren’t recognized. They were ruled out of order and they led a protest from the House floor with a bullhorn to those in the balcony. They shut down the proceedings of the House. We had to go into recess due to their actions.”
“They disregarded the Sergeant at Arms asking them to leave the well at multiple occasions and they really didn’t stop yelling in their bullhorn until I had to clear out the balcony because of behavior that was caused blatantly by those three members,” continued Sexton. “Those actions that they did on the House floor deserve expulsion.”