On April6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel Democratic Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson for violating the chamber's decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joining demonstrators in the chamber's public galleries during a legislative session three days after the 2023 Covenant School shooting. Resolutions for the expulsions of Jones and Pearson passed with a two-thirds majority, and they were removed from office. The resolution against Johnson failed to pass by one vote, and she was allowed to retain her seat.
The decision to expel the representatives has been called unprecedented in modern United States history, with the power to expel members typically being reserved to remove members accused of serious misconduct. The decision was condemned as authoritarian and undemocratic by a number of Democrats, including U.S. president Joe Biden, former president Barack Obama, and former vice president Al Gore, who served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1985 to 1993. Jones, Johnson, and Pearson were dubbed by their supporters as the "Tennessee Three."
The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to reinstate Jones on April 10, and two days later the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate Pearson. Both legislators won their respective special elections to serve the remainder of their terms.
Background
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives requires a two-thirds majority of the total membership to expel another representative. In the state of Tennessee, expulsions are rare; since the Civil War, only eight representatives had been expelled before 2023. Six representatives were expelled in 1866 for trying to prevent passage of the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to former slaves. In 1980, Republican representative Robert Fisher was expelled for bribery. Republican representative Jeremy Durham was expelled in 2016 for sexual misconduct.
2023 Covenant School shooting and protest
On March 27, 2023, a shooter killed three students and three adults at the Covenant School, a Presbyterian private school in Nashville. On March 30, hundreds of protesters, joined by state representatives Jones, Johnson, and Pearson, marched onto the Tennessee State Capitol to call on lawmakers to address gun reform.
Jones, Johnson, and Pearson gathered at the well of the chamber and chanted, "No action, no peace" during a proceeding that day, using a bullhorn. The bullhorn was believed to be owned by country singer Margo Price, but Price later clarified that it was not hers. The Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Cameron Sexton, condemned the protest, and compared it to the January 6 Capitol attack. Sexton revoked their ID card access to the State Capitol on April 3 and stripped them of their committee assignments.
In the days following the demonstration, supporters of Jones, Johnson, and Pearson accused Republican legislators of fascism. During her interview with Mother Jones, Johnson stated that she believed Tennessee was less democratic than North Korea. On social media, the hashtag #TennesseeThree trended on Twitter as supporters of the legislators protested the expulsion votes.
Expulsion votes
As the Tennessee House of Representatives is a 99-seat body, the number of votes to expel a member is 66 in order to reach the required supermajority.
Justin Jones
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel Jones by a vote of 7225, split along party lines, with only one Republican, Charlie Baum, voting against the expulsion. HR65, the resolution to remove Jones, was sponsored by Bud Hulsey and co-sponsored by Gino Bulso, Andrew Farmer, and Johnny Garrett.
Gloria Johnson
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 6530 not to expel Johnson. It was short of the required two-thirds majority by one vote. The Republicans who did not support the resolution were Jody Barrett, Charlie Baum, Rush Bricken, Bryan Richey, Lowell Russell, Mike Sparks, and Sam Whitson. The resolution, HR64, was sponsored by Gino Bulso.
Justin J. Pearson
The Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel Pearson, 6926. HR63, the resolution to remove Pearson, was sponsored by Andrew Farmer. Charlie Baum and John Gillespie were the two Republicans to vote against the resolution.