Republican lawmakers in Tennessee voted on Thursday to expel two Democratic lawmakers who joined a protest for gun control on the House floor last week after a deadly school shooting in Nashville.
During the protest Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson led a chant of “power to the people” from the House floor. Republicans accused them of breaking House rules on conduct and decorum.
Before Thursday’s vote the lawmakers were stripped of their committee assignments.
Republicans voted 72-25 to expel Jones and 69-26 to expel Pearson. The resolution to expel Johnson failed by one vote, 65 to 30.
“To those who here will cast a vote for expulsion, I was fighting for your children, too, to live free from the terror of school shootings,” Jones said before the vote.
“If I’m expelled from here, I’ll be back out there with the people every week demanding that you act. If you expel me, I will continue to show up because this issue is too important,” Jones added.
Jones and Pearson can be appointed back into the seat until a special election is held, and they could run in the special election to regain their seat, according to the Associated Press.
The Nashville Metro Council said after the vote on Thursday that they will reappoint Jones to the seat.
