Expelled to reinstated: Pearson returns to Tennessee House

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The second of two Black Democrats expelled from the Republican-led Tennessee House will follow his colleague in returning to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their banishments for a gun control protest on the House floor propelled them into the national spotlight.

Justin Pearson was easily reappointed to his position by Shelby County commissioners Wednesday, and delivered a speech like a fiery pastor to a throng of jubilant supporters outside. The Memphis lawmaker planned to return to the House floor session Thursday morning immediately after his latest swearing-in outside the Capitol building.

Republicans expelled Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones last week over their role in a gun control protest on the House floor after a Nashville school shooting that left three children and three adults dead.

The appointments are interim, though both Jones and Pearson plan to run in special elections for the seats later this year.

The House’s vote to remove Pearson and Jones but keep white Rep. Gloria Johnson drew accusations of racism. Johnson survived by one vote. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, noting that Johnson’s role in the protest didn’t involve some steps that Jones and Pearson took, including speaking into a bullhorn.

Banishment is a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures have the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents.

On Monday, the Nashville Metropolitan Council took only a few minutes to unanimously restore Jones to office. He was quickly reinstated to his House seat the same day.

The expulsions last Thursday made Tennessee a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. In the span of a few days, the two raised thousands of campaign dollars and the Tennessee Democratic Party received a new jolt of support from across the U.S.

Political tensions rose when Pearson, Johnson and Jones, from the House floor, joined with hundreds of demonstrators who packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun control measures.

As protesters filled the galleries, the lawmakers approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school. Their participation from the front of the chamber broke House rules because the three did not have permission from the House speaker.

In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have been more supportive of the idea to strengthen school safety than to address gun control with only weeks to go in the legislative session.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee has avoided commenting on the lawmakers’ expulsions, saying the controversy is a House issue. He has since called on the General Assembly to pass legislation aimed at keeping dangerous people from acquiring weapons.

Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Expelled to reinstated: Pearson returns to Tennessee House

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