Tennessee statehouse expels Democrat for gun control protest

A Democratic legislator has been expelled from the Tennessee statehouse for joining a gun control protest that brought legislative proceedings to a halt there last week.

The House of Representatives voted 72-25 to expel Justin Jones, 27, who led demonstrators in chants from the floor.

He was joined by two other Democratic lawmakers, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson, who also face expulsion.

Hundreds of protesters have flooded the State Capitol since a school shooting.

The 27 March attack at Nashville's Covenant School killed six, including three children.

The expulsion of Mr Jones by the Republican-dominated body marks the first expulsion without the support of both parties from the General Assembly in Tennessee's modern history. The House voted 72-25 to expel, roughly along party lines.

Thursday's vote followed a fractious day in the House. For hours ahead of the official vote, lawmakers argued over the expulsion resolution, with the shouts of protesters still crowding the statehouse audible within the chamber.

Speaking on the House floor, former Representative Jones, who entered the House holding hands with Mr Pearson and Ms Johnson, called the expulsion vote a "farce of democracy".

The measure was a "violation", he said. "It is an attempt to silence and undo the will of over 200,000 Tennesseans whom the three of us represent."

Mr Jones and his two colleagues took to the House floor last Thursday, chanting "No action, no peace" and bringing the chamber's proceedings to a standstill for nearly an hour. The three lawmakers acknowledged they broke House rules by speaking without being formally recognised, but insisted their actions did not warrant expulsion.

In a resolution, Republicans said all three Democrats had brought "disorder and dishonour to the House". And on Thursday, some Republican members said the trio's actions amounted to an insurrection, with House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, comparing the incident to the Capitol Riots.

"What they did today was equivalent, at least equivalent, maybe worse depending on how you look at it, to doing an insurrection in the State Capitol," he said.

Expulsion votes are exceptionally rare. In Tennessee, the House of Representatives has only twice voted to expel members - one in 1980 against a sitting lawmaker who was convicted of soliciting a bribe, and another to remove a majority whip who was facing allegations of sexual misconduct in 2016. But those expulsions were supported by members of both parties.