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Nashville Democrat Justin Jones, a member of the so-called “Tennessee Three,” won back his state House seat Thursday after Republican lawmakers expelled him for his participation in a pro-gun control protest in the Capitol. Jones, 27, defeated Republican candidate Laura Nelson. Along with Jones, fellow Democrat Justin Pearson, 28, was also vying to reclaim his House seat in Memphis against independent candidate Jeff Johnston after also being expelled in April. The young Black lawmakers were reinstated by local officials after being booted from the GOP-dominated Statehouse, but only on an interim basis. They needed to clear a special election in...

Tennessee legislator Justin Jones, a pro-gun control activist, tweeted: "We have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean's heinous song calling for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism." But fans of Aldean rallied to his defence. One comment on the YouTube video accused the media of celebrating rap songs glorifying violence, "but a video by a country singer about self defense and neighbors looking out for each other is banned".

Tennessee house Democrat Justin Jones, who was just reinstated to the chamber after being expelled for leading a disruptive gun-control protest on the floor, assaulted a driver and faced serious charges for other misconduct committed while attending racial-justice protests in the summer of 2020. Footage of rioting outside the state Capitol in 2020 first shared by Scoop Nashville appears to show Jones repeatedly hitting the driver of a car with a traffic cone. The video, which was resurfaced by the Post Millenial, shows Jones and other activists stopping and surrounding the vehicle before the driver escaped. Jones was charged with...

Jones...was seen on video blocking a street with six other demonstrators on June 18, 2020. Dressed in all black and a tan-brimmed hat, the future lawmaker could be seen attempting to stop a white truck trying to drive around them by placing a traffic cone in front of the vehicle. Undeterred, the driver runs over the cone, causing the group to approach the truck and yell at him with a megaphone. Appearing angered by the driver’s actions, Jones can be seen pulling the cone from underneath the vehicle and using it to repeatedly jab the driver, who attempts to smack...

My general position on last week's Tennessee flap was that the expulsions may have been a bit heavy-handed, despite clear cause for disciplinary action. Ejecting elected representatives from a legislative body is a very serious step, and should generally be avoided to the greatest extent possible. Instead, perhaps some combination of formal censures, stripping of committee assignments, and an official final warnings against future misconduct (more instances of which would result in a zero tolerance response) may have been the better path. Plus, it would've denied these loud showboats the tribal martyrdom and accompanying prominence they clearly crave and relish....

Tennessee Rep. Gloria Johnson (D) said Tuesday on “CNN This Morning” that she hears racist statements “all the time” in the Tennessee State House. Johnson said racism was the reason her two black colleagues, Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled, and she was spared. Co-host Don Lemon said, “You’ve been very in front after the vote last week that you felt race played a role in Jones and Pearson’s removal. But there are some of your Republican colleagues were saying in their estimation that it wasn’t race. That you argued, your attorney argued to the contrary that you...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — He may have been expelled Thursday evening, but Justin Jones is back in the Tennessee House of Representatives. The ousted legislator was reappointed to his former seat in the 52nd District in Nashville by the Metro Council Monday afternoon, two business days after he was officially expelled from the House for breaking decorum rules on the House floor March 30. Jones faced expulsion along with fellow Democrats Gloria Johnson of Knoxville and Justin Pearson of Memphis. Johnson survived the expulsion vote by one, but Pearson was ousted as well Thursday. The move was met with national...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville officials are poised to vote Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican colleagues for their gun control protest on the Tennessee House floor after a deadly school shooting — essentially, sending him back after a long weekend.Nashville’s metro council has called the meeting to address the vacancy left by the expulsion on Thursday of former Rep. Justin Jones. Many councilmembers have publicly commented that they want to send Jones back to the statehouse. The vote will happen as state lawmakers hold their first floor sessions since last week’s expulsion...

Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday voted to expel at least one Democratic state representative over his participation in a gun control demonstration during which a trio of Democrats interrupted the floor session and used a bullhorn to lead supporters outside in chants. The chamber voted to oust state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville, who disrupted the proceedings alongside Reps. Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson of Knoxville and Memphis, respectively. Jones was expelled in a 72-25 vote. Lawmakers needed 66 to remove him, according to the Tennessean. Before his ouster, Jones warned that such a move would backfire on Republicans, "Your overreaction,...

The three Democrat representatives who encouraged student rioters at the Tennessee State Capitol last week have reportedly been stripped of their committee assignments and are facing a vote Thursday on articles of expulsion.

Three Tennessee state lawmakers, all Democrats, were pulled from their committee assignments and could face expulsion from the legislature after they participated in storming the state Capitol during a protest against guns following last week's school shooting. Tennessee House Republicans voted Monday to strip committee assignments from state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin J. Pearson and Gloria Johnson, according to WPLN. A potential expulsion for the three lawmakers could come later this week. The lawmakers joined anti-gun protestors in storming the Capitol last week after a 28-year-old transgender person opened fire inside the Covenant School in Nashville, which killed six people,...

The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris's newly appointed top advisor is embroiled in a bribery and corruption scandal that could bankrupt Sin City. Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones, 47, was a lawyer for an environmental group when, in 2018, he allegedly entered an 'illicit and corrupt deal' with Nevada's Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak, killing a property developer's plans for a high-density residential development on 2,400 acres near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Under his company, Gypsum Resources, and backed by his creditors, developer Jim Rhodes is now suing the county and its board of commissioners for damages that,...

There has been not a little controversy about an unguarded remark by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to the effect that some supporters of California's Proposition #54, the Racial Privacy Initiative, are "right wing crazies." Schwarzenegger's comment was first reported in The National Review, not generally known as a left wing publication... Schwarzenegger was questioned about Prop 54, the Ward Connerly-spearheaded measure that would make it illegal for governmental agencies to collect racial statistics on the population, with some prudent exceptions. This is the Racial Privacy Initiative. Schwarzenegger said, "I'm against it. It looks good on the surface, but when you study it...

Prop. 54 backer: Schwarzenegger gave him an earful - Candidate's camp denies reported 'crazies' remark By Timm Herdt, herdt@insidevc.com September 10, 2003 SACRAMENTO -- A worker for the Proposition 54 campaign who attended a weekend campaign event for Arnold Schwarzenegger said the actor explained his opposition to the controversial initiative and then characterized its supporters as "right-wing crazies." Proposition 54, which will be on the Oct. 7 recall election ballot, would prohibit state and local governments from asking individuals questions about their racial and ethnic backgrounds, with certain limited exceptions. The measure is sponsored by Ward Connerly, a Sacramento businessman...