(RepublicanNews.org) – Tennessee House Democrat Justin Jones, who was expelled from the legislature for leading a mob with bullhorns in the state Capitol, has blamed “white supremacy” for his expulsion.
Jones, who appears to be trying to be perceived as a 1960s Civil Rights leader, shared his view with an actual civil rights leader. Jones told MSNBC host Al Sharpton that “we’re in the midst of a third Reconstruction here in Tennessee,” and that a “white supremacist system” in the Tennessee legislature is the only reason he was expelled.
After participating in a furious mob that used bullhorns to shout down anyone else in the legislature, two Democrats who participated were expelled for violating House rules on behavior. They are former Rep. Justin Jones and former Rep. Justin Pearson. Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson also participated and narrowly escaped expulsion.
The Democrat-led mob demanded tougher gun laws in the aftermath of a recent mass murder at the Covenant School in Nashville. 28-year-old former student, Audrey Hale, killed six people – three of whom were children – before being shot and killed by responding police.
Former Rep. Jones, age 28, appeared to be one of the leaders of the disruptive protest. Online videos depict him walking at the front of a line of protestors with his hand raised in a “black power” fist pose. In addressing the legislature, he seemed to be mimicking the vocal cadence of poet James Baldwin or the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jones said the legislature’s vote to expel him was “racist” because it was aimed at “the two youngest black lawmakers.” He called the legislature’s actions an attack on democracy that hurts everyone and is an “assault on all of us.”
These claims of racism may succeed in allowing Jones to get away with breaking the House’s rules on behavior and decorum. A local council in Nashville is set to hold a vote on whether to elect him as an interim Representative and send him back to the Capitol. The exact mechanics of how this could work remain unclear.
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