Tennessee House speaker says "individuals will be seated as representatives" if appointed
From CNN’s Dianne Gallagher
House Speaker Cameron Sexton talks with Rep. William Lamberth during expulsion proceedings for three House Democrats on the floor of the House chamber on Thursday, April 6, in Nashville. (George Walker IV/AP)
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton will not prevent ousted representatives Justin Jones or Justin Pearson from being seated if their local governing bodies appoint them to serve as interim representatives in their former districts, a spokesperson for the Republican Speaker's office tells CNN.
“The two governing bodies will make the decision as to who they want to appoint to these seats. Those two individuals will be seated as representatives as the constitution requires,” Doug Kufner, Sexton's communications director, said in a statement provided to CNN on Monday.
The Metropolitan Council in Nashville is expected to vote this afternoon during a called special meeting at 4: 30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m.ET).
The chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners has also called a special meeting to consider reappointing Justin Pearson to his former seat as the District 86 State Representative.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, at 1:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET).
5:13 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
Nashville mayor’s office encouraging council to reinstate Justin Jones as interim successor, source says
From CNN's Isabel Rosales, Ryan Young, Kevin Conlon and Devon Sayers
Justin Jones carries his name tag after a vote at the Tennessee House of Representatives to expel him for his role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse in Nashville. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)
The Nashville mayor's office has quietly been encouraging council members to vote to reinstate Justin Jones into his former seat as an interim successor, according to a metro official with knowledge of events happening.
At a special meeting called for Monday afternoon, the Metropolitan Council will officially announce the vacancy of the District 52 seat, then vote to nominate Justin Jones to fill the seat.
Then, council members will vote to suspend the rule prohibiting an individual from being nominated and appointed within the same meeting allowing the council to vote to formally appoint Jones to the Tennessee House as soon as Monday afternoon.
The special meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET).
4:45 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
The Tennessee House has only expelled 2 state representatives in more than 150 years
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe and Raja Razek
The expulsion of Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Tennessee House was a rare move. The House has only expelled two state representatives in the last 157 years.
The first expulsion, in 1980, was of a representative found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, and the most recent came in 2016 when another member was expelled over allegations of sexual harassment.
Democratic Rep. Joe Towns called the move a “nuclear option.”
“You never use a sledgehammer to kill a gnat,” Towns said. “We should not go to the extreme of expelling our members for fighting for what many of the citizens want to happen, whether you agree with it or not.”
The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, Kathy Sinback, called the move in a statement a “targeted expulsion of two Black legislators without due process.”
“It raises questions about the disparate treatment of Black representatives, while continuing the shameful legacy of disenfranchising and silencing the voices of marginalized communities and the Black lawmakers they elect,” Sinback added.
4:39 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
Here's what led to the expulsion of 2 Tennessee state lawmakers
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe and Raja Razek
Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were kicked out of the legislature by their colleagues in a vote Thursday. A third member also up for expulsion, Rep. Gloria Johnson, survived the vote, which required two-thirds majority support in the Republican-dominated chamber.
Jones' and Pearson's pictures and profiles had already been removed from the state’s General Assembly website, a symbol of the vacant seats that now need to be filled.
All three had been accused by Republicans of “knowingly and intentionally” bringing “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives” after they led a gun control protest on the House floor last month without being recognized, CNN affiliate WSMV reported.
In the wake of a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, which killed three 9-year-olds and three adults, Jones said he and other lawmakers were blocked from raising the issue of gun violence on the House floor, with their microphones being cut off whenever they raised the topic, according to WSMV.
According to the expulsion resolutions, Jones, Pearson and Johnson “began shouting without recognition” during their protest and “proceeded to disrupt the proceedings of the House Representatives.” Video showed the trio using a bullhorn.
Republican leaders in the chamber condemned the lawmakers’ actions and moved quickly to remove their committee assignments and schedule a vote for their expulsion. Jones, Pearson and Johnson decried the Republicans’ actions as oppressive, vindictive and racially motivated. Jones and Pearson are both young, Black men while Johnson is a White woman.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton called their actions “unacceptable” and argued that they broke “several rules of decorum and procedure on the House floor.”
4:21 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
Former Democratic primary challenger expected to nominate Justin Jones for interim seat
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales
District 29 council member Delishia Porterfield during a Metro Nashville Council meeting on February 7. (Nicole Hester/The Tennessean/USA Today Network)
During Monday's special meeting of the Metropolitan Council in Nashville, Delishia Porterfield, the person who ran against Justin Jones for the District 52 seat in the primary election and lost, is expected to nominate him to serve on an interim basis, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman told CNN’s Isabel Rosales.
If the council successfully suspends the rule prohibiting nominating and appointing an interim representative during same meeting, they will likely vote "on the board," Shulman said. After the votes are counted, the results will be visible on the screen.
A simple majority — 21 of the 40 members — is required to appoint Jones.
4:21 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
Nashville official says he hasn't heard any political threats for reappointing ousted lawmaker
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales, Kevin Conlon, and Mitchell McCluskey
In this November 2022 photo, Hendrell Remus, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, speaks in Nashville after election officials confirmed more than 200 votes have been cast in the wrong races in Nashville since early voting began. (Mark Humphrey/AP)
As local leaders in Nashville prepare to potentially send an ousted lawmaker back to the Tennessee House of Representatives, a member told CNN Sunday that he is unaware of any threats of political retribution for their decision.
On Saturday, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Hendrell Remus said Memphis and Shelby counties received threats that they could lose funding if they reinstate the other ousted state representative, Justin Pearson, until holding a special election.
“I don't know that, here in Nashville, that we received such threats about nominating Justin Jones back to his seat. But that kind of rhetoric, that kind of threat is very troubling. We need to have good relations between the state and the local municipalities,” Nashville Metropolitan Councilmember Jeff Syracuse said.
“If that is the case, they need to stop with those kinds of threats. We need to ensure stability here amongst relations from the state and local municipalities,” Syracuse added.
How the vote will work: During Monday’s meeting, the council will vote on whether suspend the rules which typically do not allow a member to be nominated and appointed in the same meeting, Syracuse told CNN.
If two or more members oppose that process, the measure will fail. If that happens, it would be at least four weeks until the council could vote to appoint Jones back to his seat, Syracuse said.
Syracuse said he did not believe Jones deserved to be kicked out of the legislature.
“Justin has a very important voice on this topic ... which is gun control and school safety. So we need him back there. There's an understanding that decorum was broken for sure. But it was an egregious act to actually expel him and Justin Pearson from the legislation. That action did not meet the transgression that, that occurred,” Syracuse said.
6:13 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
"Thank you for believing in me," ousted Memphis lawmaker Justin Pearson says in Easter Sunday remarks
From CNN's Michelle Watson
Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis speaks with supporters after being expelled from the state Legislature on April 6 in Nashville. (Seth Herald/Getty Images)
Justin Pearson, one of two state lawmakers recently ousted from the Tennessee House of Representatives for a gun control protest on the House floor, spoke in an Easter Sunday service at Church of the River in Memphis, thanking the congregation and the community for its support.
"To District 86 I thank you for believing in me, for entrusting me and expecting me to serve as best as I possibly can," Pearson said, during the Sunday service.
"The Republican-led supermajority of the Tennessee General Assembly sought to have a political lynching of three of its members because we spoke out of turn against the status quo of the government after the tragic death of six people in the shooting of the Covenant school in Nashville," he said.
Pearson referenced Martin Luther King Jr., noting the civil rights leader was killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis.
"Fifty-five years ago this week, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by gun violence. I tell you what: His words, from what he spoke just days before he was assassinated, are still true. The movement lives or dies in Memphis."
Pearson repeated the phrase, "The movement lives or dies in Memphis," as applause erupted throughout the church.
Jason Pearson, the Memphis lawmakers' father serves as pastor of the Community of Faith Christian Church. Before his son spoke, he led the congregation in prayer, and told the crowd: "There have been some hard days and some difficult moments."
"When somebody is crucifying your baby, it's hard to be silent," Jason said.
"I got to use my voice in this moment because that's all I've got," he added. "I don't have any power. I don't have any other way to stop them from crucifying my baby but I'm going to say and let him that his family is standing with him."
The Tennessee House had only expelled two other representatives in the last 157 years, and the move required a two-thirds majority vote of the total membership.
6:13 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
What happens next for the vacant seats left by 2 expelled Tennessee lawmakers
From CNN's Kelly McCleary
Justin Pearson and Justin Jones raise their hands after being expelled from their seats in Nashville. (Kevin Wurm/Reuters)
Just hours after the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel two Democratic lawmakers, their pictures and profiles had already been removed from the state’s General Assembly website, a symbol of the vacant seats that now need to be filled.
Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were kicked out of the legislature by their colleagues in a vote Thursday. Focus in Tennessee is now on filling those two new vacancies.
Special election to come: According to the Tennessee Constitution, since there are more than 12 months until the next general election in November 2024, a special election will be held to fill the seats.
No date has been set for a special election but state law says the governor should schedule them within 55 to 60 days.
Temporary appointments: In the time between when a seat becomes vacant and when a special election can be held, “the legislative body of the replaced legislator’s county of residence at the time of his or her election may elect an interim successor,” the state Constitution says.
For Jones’ District 52 seat, the local legislative body is Nashville and Davidson County's Metropolitan Council. The council has scheduled a special meeting on Monday afternoon to address the vacancy and possibly vote on an interim successor.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper has expressed his support for Jones and said on Twitter he believes the council will send him “right back to continue serving his constituents.”
Jones told CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday that if he’s appointed by the council, he will serve. “I have no regrets. I will continue to stand up for my constituents,” he said.
For Pearson’s District 86 seat, the local legislative body is the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in Memphis.
Commission chairman Mickell Lowery plans to call a special meeting regarding Pearson’s expulsion, CNN affiliate WMC reported, but the timing of the meeting isn’t yet known.
Pearson said he hopes to “get reappointed to serve in the state legislature." Referring to the Shelby County commissioners, he said: “A lot of them, I know, are upset about the anti-democratic behavior of this White supremacist-led state legislature.”
6:12 p.m. ET, April 10, 2023
Rep. Justin Jones says he would "most definitely" return to his seat if appointed by council
From CNN’s Andi Babineau
Former Rep. Justin Jones prepares remarks for his expulsion proceedings in a room next to the House chamber on April 6 in Nashville. (George Walker IV/AP)
Former Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones said he would "most definitely" serve his district again if appointed to do so. It comes after he and another Black lawmaker were expelled from their seats in the majority-GOP legislature Thursday for peacefully protesting gun violence alongside their constituents.
Jones and the other ousted lawmaker, Rep. Justin Pearson, called for protesters to return to the Capitol when the House is back in session on Monday.
"That's what we were asking for — the most very basic thing was to ban assault weapons so we can stop these mass shootings, instead they responded by assaulting democracy," Jones said Friday.
"I think what happened was a travesty of democracy because they expelled the two youngest Black lawmakers, which is no coincidence from the Tennessee state legislature because we are outspoken, because we fight for our district and I will, you know, want to continue to do that whether I'm inside the chamber or outside the chamber," Jones said.
A third representative on the chopping block, Rep. Gloria Johnson, a White woman, avoided expulsion by one vote.
"They retaliated not because of that one incident of us going to the well and joining those young people protesting gun violence, but because they got tired and did not feel like young Black men have a right to be at the same dais as them," Jones said.
Nashville's Metropolitan Council will vote next week to appoint an interim representative for Jones' district, a role which Jones said he would happily step back into if he's re-appointed.
"We will fight for a multi-racial democracy, and so this extreme tactic to expel us and to try to humiliate us has only put a spotlight of the world on Tennessee," he said. "I would go back because … I'm fighting for the future that I want to live in, that I want my children to live in. It's worth whatever sacrifices that we have to give."
