Justin Jones DESTROYS ‘Admitted Child Molester’ And Other Republicans Who Weren’t Expelled From TN House

Democratic Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones ticked through a brutal list of people who were not expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives despite horrific behavior, including a former GOP rep whom Jones called “an admitted child molester.”

On Thursday, the Tennessee House held a vote to expel Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — both of whom are Black — over a protest calling for gun reform in the wake of the shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School that killed 6 people. Rep. Gloria Johnson, a 60-year-old white woman who participated in the protest, also faced an expulsion vote.

In the lead-up to that vote, there were several stunning moments, including the jaw-dropping litany from Jones that was flagged by Huffpost editor Phil Lewis in a riveting live video thread.

After the resolution to expel him was read, Rep. Jones delivered a lengthy statement that included a passage devoted to contrasting the actions of the “Tennessee Three” with others whose behavior did not result in expulsion, including sexual misconduct and chair urination:

Let’s talk about expulsion. For years, one of your colleagues who was admitted child molester sat in this chamber. No expulsion.

One member sits in this chamber was found guilty of domestic violence. No expulsion.

We had a former speaker sits in this chamber who is now under federal investigation. No expulsion. We have a member still under federal investigation. No expulsion.

We had a member pee in another member’s chair in this chamber. No expulsion. In fact, they’re in leadership … in the governor’s administration.

And so, once again, what you’re saying to us that you’re trying to put us on trial, I’ll say what you’re really putting on trial is the state of Tennessee. What you’re really showing for the world is holding up a mirror to a state that is going back to some dark, dark roots.

A state in which the Ku Klux Klan was founded is now attempting another power grab by silencing the two youngest Black representatives and one of the only women Democratic women in this body. That’s what this is about.

The legislature spared Rep. Johnson but expelled Jones and Pearson. That disparity has been flagged by the Tennessee Three and others as a racist double standard. The two expelled lawmakers could potentially be re-appointed within a matter of weeks.

Nashville’s WSMV explained Jones was talking about former Rep. David Byrd:

JEREMY FINLEY: Now, former state Representative Justin Jones said today that the House had it admitted child molester on the floor, but that that lawmaker wasn’t expelled. He’s talking about former Representative David Byrd, though Byrd was never charged with any crime. In fact, Representative Gloria Johnson herself drafted a motion in 2019 to expel Byrd, but it ultimately failed. WSMV4 Investigates first revealed that three women accused Byrd of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers and he was their basketball coach. After the teenagers became adults one of the women reached Byrd by phone and recorded it. In that audio. Byrd said, I hope you believe me when I say that it’s one of those things that I think about all the time, and I always ask forgiveness for it, and I hope you can forgive me. He also said this.

BYRD: I can promise you one thing that I have been so sorry for that.

JEREMY FINLEY: Byrd would never say what exactly he was apologizing for. Speaker Cameron Sexton then asked the attorney general if Byrd could be expelled for alleged conduct committed before he was a lawmaker and the then attorney general advised against taking that action. Governor Lee did ask Byrd not to run for reelection, but he did anyway, and won. He ultimately left the legislature after getting extremely sick from COVID.

Watch above via Knoxville News Sentinel.

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