Nashville Council reinstates Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones 36-0
The Nashville Metropolitan Council reappointed Justin Jones to the Tennessee House of Representatives today. Jones will fill the empty District 52 seat in the Tennessee Legislature just 4 days after the GOP-dominated House expelled him for calling for gun reform on the chamber floor following the deadly shooting at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville late last month, when six people were killed, including three children aged 9.
The vote took place less than a mile away from the Capitol. Council member Delishia Porterfield called the House’s vote a “miscarriage of justice and an egregious assault on democracy.”
The vacant District 86 seat, held by Justin Pearson until he was ousted, will be addressed during a special meeting of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in Memphis on Wednesday afternoon, according to Commission Chairman Mickell Lowery. Pearson has indicated he would return to his seat if given the opportunity.
Related: Tennessee GOP: Don’t talk about children killed at school