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The expulsion vote came less than two weeks after three 9-year-old children and three adults were fatally shot at an elementary school in Nashville.
Jones said he and Pearson donβt see their role as convincing opposing lawmakers of their views, but instead as being a βvoice of moral dissentβ and a βspeed bump to try and stop them from driving this train off the cliff.β
More than a dozen members of Nashvilleβs Metro Council said they plan to vote to reappoint Jones and send him back to the Tennessee House of Representatives, The Tennessean reported.
That βhostile environment,β Jones added, has been driven by Republicans, including House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who donβt view young Black men such as Jones and Pearson as equal or deserving of being in the Legislature: βWe know what weβre facing.β
In a separate interview on Fox News Friday morning, Sexton defended the expulsion vote and pushed back on accusations that racism was the reason why Jones and Pearson were expelled while Johnson was not β an allegation Johnson herself made to reporters after Thursdayβs vote. The speaker said Johnsonβs lawyers argued that she acted differently than the pair during the protest β she didnβt shout or use a bullhorn β and other members thought she didnβt play as central a role in the demonstration as Jones and Pearson.
βShe is trying to cloak racism in this, which there was nothing on this. They were all given due process,β Sexton told Fox News. βWhat they did was not right, and it deserved expulsion.β
Sexton also defended the Legislatureβs actions against President Joe Bidenβs condemnation that the expulsions were βshockingβ and βundemocratic,β saying he doesnβt believe the president would tolerate such protests on the congressional floor.
Johnson said she doesnβt believe there was due process for her and the two others: βThere were no rules,β she told MSNBC Friday morning, adding that she was questioned by lawmakers in a different way than the two men. βIt is scary this is whatβs happening to our democratic process.β
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )