Tennessee House Speaker Hits Back at Fellow Rep Gloria Johnson Alleging Racism in Expulsion of Two Black Legislators

Tennessee State Speaker Cameron Sexton pushed back on allegations of racism in the expulsion of two Black state legislators — Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — who participated in a protest in the House chambers. Sexton appeared on Fox & Friends Friday morning, which revealed its pro-Republican opinion perspective earlier when they defended the expulsions.

In contrast to the two legislators who were expelled, another legislator who participated in the protest, Gloria Johnson, who is White, did not get expelled. She has claimed multiple times that the reason for the different consequences was the color of their skin.

The expulsions followed a protest by Tennessee teens and the three lawmakers, who were outraged over the apparent lack of gun safety following last week’s school shooting in Nashville, which left six dead, three of whom were nine-year-old students.

Sexton complained earlier in the week that the Tennessee protest was worse than the events of January 6, which of course ignores a few obvious differences, notably the extreme violence of the Capitol riot and the fact that it was fueled by a desire to overturn a free and fair election, whereas the Tennessee protest was about children being murdered at school.

But the initial focus of his interview with Will Cain was to address the claims of racism, which Sexton hit back as “a false narrative,” “unfortunate,” and blamed Johnson for “trying to put political racism in this when there was nothing on this.”

Will Cain:  Tennessee State Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton was there yesterday and he joins us now. Thank you so much for being with us. So you heard Representative Johnson’s characterizations of the questions about their behavior on the well that day and her explanation for why she survived and the other two were expelled. What’s your reaction?

Cameron Sexton: Well, I mean, that’s a false narrative on her part. She had two attorneys in the well. And if you go back and look at opening, her attorney, John Mark Wendell, came out strong, made a lot of points that she was not as active a participant as the other two. She didn’t grab the bullhorn. She didn’t scream and yell. She didn’t leave the protest. Well. But what evidence of all three? They were able to make their statements a representation. Some of the members felt that she was not an active participant in leading the protest on the Hill.

Will Cain: In fact, isn’t that the argument she made to you, that she wasn’t as as active as as the other two who were expelled? I’m reading a quote from her. She said, I went to the well, as long as this microphone was on, I stood with them. As long as this microphone was on, they spoke and didn’t yell. And when we called a recess, I think that’s when the megaphone came out. I absolutely never yelled. This is about me, as I understand it. I didn’t speak in a voice as any other member on this floor. Make what you will. So she is making an argument. It sounds that she behave differently than the two that were expelled. And yet when you hear her go on CNN, she’s saying it’s because she’s white and they are black.

Cameron Sexton: Yeah, it’s unfortunate. She’s trying to put political racism in this, which there was nothing on this. They were all given due process. They were all three that were up there. They all three went for expulsion even to Tennessee and said that they led the protest from the House floor. And so she made her statement. She separated herself. Actually, she separated herself from the other two and and said, I didn’t have the megaphone. I didn’t yell and scream. I just stood there with them side of it. And so she made her face that she, as you said, did not do what they did.

Watch above via Fox News.