The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously on Monday to reappoint Justin Jones, one of the “Tennessee Three,” to the state’s House of Representatives. The vote was 36-0 to name Jones an interim representative for the House District 52.
In a public vote last Thursday, Jones and Justin J. Pearson, who are both Black, were expelled by GOP lawmakers for advocating for gun reform on the chamber floor. Rep. Gloria Johnson also participated in the protest, which followed the mass shooting in at a school in Nashville that claimed six lives, but Johnson, who is white, was not expelled with her younger colleagues.
Republican politicians contended that the three had brought “disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives,” while the House Speaker said they were “inciting violence.”
Among those who voiced their support for the ousted politicians were Vice President Kamala Harris, who gave an impassioned speech in Nashville on Saturday; Paul McCartney guitarist Brian Ray, and late night host John Oliver. Singer and civil rights activist Joan Baez, who was at the Nashville airport, sang, “We Shall Overcome” with Jones in a video he shared to Twitter.
Following today’s unanimous vote, which was met with whoops and cheers in a video of the proceedings, Jones joined demonstrators in a march to the state Capitol, CNN reported.
