After staging a disruptive protest on the Louisiana House floor in favor of more gun control, two Democratic lawmakers were expelled from the legislature.
Although they’ve since been reinstated, both will have to face a special election to determine whether they’ll keep their positions permanently.
When one of the men, Rep. Justin Pearson, celebrated his return to the Capitol, he saw an opportunity to literally demonize a Republican rival.
According to the Washington Examiner:
“Unfortunately, the solution offered by the Republican Party in the state of Tennessee was to try and expel us, try and expel our voices, and silence our fight to end gun violence,” he said. “They worked to expel our constituents’ representation by subverting our democracy for their mobocracy, where their dollars and their egos rule. But our democracy is powered by people, and people power always wins.”
Pearson then took aim at Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton.
“My mother says what the devil meant for bad, God meant for good,” he said. “God needed to reignite this movement to end gun violence. God needed to catalyze the conversation about antidemocratic behavior of the Republican Party in the state of Tennessee. God needed to wake us up to the reality of this moment that we’ve got a new generation, new ideas, new beliefs to guide us into the future. So what Cameron Sexton meant for bad, God has turned into good.”
The other expelled lawmaker, Justin Jones, has since faced criticism for his reported behavior during the civil unrest of 2020.
Tennessee House Democrat Justin Jones Assaulted Driver during 2020 Protests, Video Shows https://t.co/mXJ2LkOP9e#Tennessee
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) April 13, 2023
"Justin Jones (Tennessee DemocRAT representative) assaulted a driver during 2020 riots."
"Turns out, insurrecting was not the only crime Jones has committed."
Justin Jones assaulted a driver but the charges were dropped because he's a democrat.#Tucker pic.twitter.com/jH5DBaSyCd
— Mike (@1776Fightr) April 14, 2023
Imagine if Republicans assaulted people in their cars in the city? A video of Justin Jones down in Nashville stopping cars and assaulting drivers in the summer of 2020 #BanThisMoFu #crime
This is one of the state reps who was expelled and just reinstated. Please DO NOT RT pic.twitter.com/oBzwQr8Pb9
— Maga Patriot-Grant Reid 🇺🇸🇿🇦 (@Norforsythhomes) April 13, 2023
A third lawmaker also participated in the House protest, but she escaped expulsion by one vote.
As WATE reported:
Amid social media commentary and reports suggesting why Rep. Gloria Johnson was not expelled while two Black representatives were expelled, Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore) said he voted not to expel Johnson because she “did not participate to the extent that Jones and Pearson did.”
Russell issued a statement on Friday explaining his vote by saying that all three representatives violated house rules and their conduct was unacceptable, and had all three of them participated the same, he would have voted to expel all three.
“Either Jones or Pearson smuggled a bullhorn into the chamber. The two used that bullhorn to shout and scream and incite the crowd to chant “no action, no peace”. The video showed Johnson did not appear to do anything other than stand near the Well and move her lips,” he said in the statement.
Here’s a clip of Pearson’s recent remarks:
Now….do you want to know the most stunning part of it all?
This Justin Pearson guy has undergone a STUNNING transition.
You know, how everyone transitions these days?
Well, he didn’t “transition” from a woman to a man, but he “transitioned” from a reasonable upright citizen to some sort of character right out of central casting.
You just HAVE to watch this:
Tucker Carlson on the transition of the Left. pic.twitter.com/2EXTRGRXy4
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) April 13, 2023
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