‘F*ck You, Fascists!’ Protestors Erupt in Tennessee Statehouse After GOP-Controlled House Expels Democratic Lawmaker
The words “F*ck You Fascists!” reverberated in the Tennessee statehouse on Thursday after legislators voted to expel Rep. Justin Jones over his participation in a gun control protest.
The vote was 72 Republicans for expelling Jones, 25 Democrats against his expulsion.
Before he left the floor, Jones told lawmakers, “We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy.”
Jones, plus Reps. Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson, all Democrats, had joined with hundreds of protesters that packed into the Tennessee statehouse last week calling for tougher gun laws.
The protest was in response to the March 27 school shooting in Nashville that killed three children and three adults before police shot the gunman dead. All three representatives were accused of breaking House rules by “acting disorderly” – Jones in particular for using a bull horn when joining in with protesters
Republicans passed a resolution stating the representatives “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives through their individual and collective actions.”
A vote to expel Johnson fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. The GOP-dominated House will next vote on the fate of Pearson. Earlier, Johnson told lawmakers determining her fate that she “absolutely never yelled” at the demonstration.
About 1,000 Nashville students walked out of their classrooms Monday at 10:13 a.m. in commemoration for the lives lost to the Covenant elementary school shooting.
Instead of tougher gun laws, however, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is proposing an additional $155 million for more armed security at the state’s schools.
