Following the expulsion of two Black Democratic lawmakers in Tennessee on Thursday, lawmakers have pointed to things Republicans did or were accused of doing that did not result in expulsion.
As Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives prepared to vote Thursday to expel two Black Democratic lawmakers for halting proceedings last week to protest for gun-control reform in the aftermath of a Nashville mass shooting, Democratic lawmakers listed things their colleagues had done over the years that were not punished with expulsion.
Republican legislative leaders accused state Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — dubbed the “Tennessee Three” — of “disorderly behavior” after leading a crowd of protesters in briefly disrupting the legislative session. Jones and Pearson were ousted, while Johnson narrowly was allowed to keep her seat.
Expelling a member from the state House is a rarity in Tennessee history, and it has only previously happened three times. In 1866, six lawmakers were expelled for blocking the ratification of the 14th Amendment. In 1980, a House member was expelled for seeking a bribe in exchange for scuttling a piece of legislation. And then in 2016, a representative was expelled amid state and federal investigations for sexual misconduct after a state attorney general report found that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with at least 22 women.
In a floor speech, Jones warned that the legislature was “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 Democratic women in this body,” he said. “That’s what this is about”
Several Democrats pointed to things Republicans did or were accused of doing that did not result in expulsion. Here are a few examples:
Lawmaker accused of sexually assaulting girls
In 2018, state Rep. David Byrd (R) faced accusations from three women who said he sexually assaulted them while they were minors on a basketball team that he coached. Byrd, who served in the state House until January, publicly denied the accusations and questioned the motives of the women.
