Democrats demand DOJ investigation into Republicans ousting Tennessee lawmakers
Rachel Schilke
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Senate Democrats asked the Justice Department to investigate the expulsions of two Tennessee Democratic state lawmakers after they disrupted a legislative session protesting for stricter gun control laws.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote a letter asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to “use all available legal authorities” to determine whether the expulsions violate federal statutes and “take all steps necessary to uphold the democratic integrity of our nation’s legislative bodies.”
TENNESSEE THREE: NASHVILLE CITY COUNCIL VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO REINSTATE EXPELLED STATE LAWMAKER
The senators argued that the removals may have violated the state representatives’ First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly after state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, along with state Rep. Gloria Johnson, went to the podium with a megaphone and joined hundreds of protesters in calling for gun reform legislation following a mass shooting at a Christian school that claimed the lives of three children and three adults.
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Johnson, a white Democrat who also participated in the demonstration, survived her expulsion vote. Jones and Pearson, black Democrats, were expelled for participating in “disorderly behavior,” but Republican state Rep. Lowell Russell said Johnson “did not participate to the extent that Jones and Pearson did.”
This is the first formal response to the situation despite several Democratic leaders speaking out against the expulsions of Jones and Pearson. They were expelled last Thursday, with the Nashville city council voting to reinstate Jones to the state House on Monday.