Justin Jones, a Democratic state representative from Tennessee, was reinstated to the state House on Monday after being expelled by Republicans last week for his participation in demonstrations in the wake of a major school massacre.
The Nashville Metro Council members voted 36-0 in favor of re-electing the rookie lawmaker to his previous position. The Republican supermajority had removed Jones and fellow state representative Justin Pearson, a Democrat, from office five days earlier on the grounds that the two had attempted to instigate violence by bringing bullhorns into the House floor during a gun control rally. Gloria Johnson, a white Democratic state representative who took part in the protest, was spared from being expelled.
Pearson’s re-appointment to his position will likely be decided by the Shelby County Commission on Wednesday.
Jones is said to have rushed upon a bench just before Monday’s vote and begun speaking to his followers. He referred to Cameron Sexton, the Republican speaker of the Tennessee House, as a “extremist,” and he pledged that a new generation will bring about gun reform.
Tell me what democracy looks like! Jones and a crowd of approximately 1,000 demonstrators marched to the state Capitol after the vote. “This is how democracy looks like!”
If he is reappointed, Jones and Pearson will both need to run for reelection in a special election. Jones and Pearson transitioned from being local lawmakers to political martyrs, receiving plaudits from the White House and funds from across the nation for their reelection bids. The vote to remove Jones and Pearson was not motivated by race, according to Sexton.
The statehouse, according to Pearson, is a “toxic work environment,” and he said he was bullied for not wearing a suit and tie to a House session and instead donning a black dashiki. An African tunic-like garment known as a dashiki.
