Democrat Facing Expulsion From Tennessee House Files Assault Charges Against Republican Colleague

Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones enters the house chamber ahead of session as protesters chant demanding action for gun reform laws in the state at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 3, 2023. Seth Herald/Getty Images

A Tennessee representative facing an ouster from his seat—alongside two other Democrat Representatives—filed charges against a Republican colleague after a reported incident on the Tennessee House floor on April 3.

The incident happened as the Tennessee House floor was thrown into chaos as protestors entered the chamber to call for gun control measures following the deadly Christian school shooting in Nashville on March 27.

Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) filed charges with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department on the evening of April 3, alleging his colleague committed a misdemeanor simple assault offense on the House Floor, MNPD Public Affairs Officer Kristin Mumford told The Epoch Times.

The Alleged Incident

As protestors, many of them students, entered the chamber to call for gun control measures, three Democrat lawmakers joined in by making their way to the front of the chamber with a bullhorn and interrupted the House’s regularly scheduled business.

During this time, Jones was recording on his phone while Rep. Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville) was recording on his. A short video published on Jones’ Twitter account late on April 3 allegedly shows Lafferty grabbing Jones’ phone and pushing him.

The video does show Lafferty next to Jones and what appears to be the Republican reaching toward Jones’ phone. It is not clear by the video if Jones was pushed or what followed the seconds-long skirmish in the video.

The Epoch Times reached out to both Jones and Lafferty for comment but did not receive a response. This story will be updated if they respond.

Ouster Proceedings

Jones, along with Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), will face a vote of expulsion from the House on April 6.

Republican Tennessee House Speaker Rep. Cameron Sexton said in an interview with NewsChannel 5 in Nashville on April 4 he believes the members should be expelled from the chamber.

“They’re the ones that have done something that’s never happened, and they are the ones that pulled out a megaphone on the House floor and led the protest to the gallery, which shut us down,” Sexton told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.

“They did, in the chamber with other members, break every rule that we almost have—props, how they act, decorum, not being recognized, taking over the assembly, causing us to have to shut down to take a recess because of their actions.”

Protesters gather inside the Tennessee State Capitol to call for an end to shootings and support more restrictive gun laws in Nashville, Tenn., on March 30, 2023. Seth Herald/Getty Images

What’s Next

Democrat lawmakers have defended their breach, with House Minority Leader Karen Camper describing their actions as “good trouble.” This is a reference to the late Rep. John Lewis’s guiding principle.

On April 4, Pearson admitted in a letter to other lawmakers that he “did not follow decorum” and that he takes “full responsibility and accountability” for his actions.

“My walk to the House floor in a peaceful and civil manner was not an insurrection,” he wrote in a letter he shared on Instagram. “I wanted to listen and respond to the voices of Tennesseans who were not given the opportunity to speak in meaningful dialogue with us.”

Pearson’s reference to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol comes after Sexton said the actions of the Democrat lawmakers were equivalent, if not worse.

“Two of the members, Rep. Jones and Rep. Johnson, have been very vocal about January 6 in Washington, D.C., about what that was, and what they did today was equivalent, at least equivalent, maybe worse depending on how you look at it, of doing an insurrection in the Capitol,” Sexton told the Hallerin Hilton Hill radio show.

On April 4, he clarified that his comments “were not directed toward the peaceful protesters” but were instead “solely directed toward the actions of three Democrat lawmakers who rushed the well and those who led a protest on the House floor with a bullhorn.”

Pearson and Jones are both new members of the state Legislature, while Johnson was elected in 2019. All three have been outspoken critics of the Republican supermajority.

Jones was temporarily banned from the Tennessee Capitol in 2019 after throwing a cup of liquid at former House Speaker Glen Casada and other lawmakers while protesting the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest inside the Capitol.

Expelling lawmakers is an extraordinary action inside the Tennessee Capitol. Just two other House members have ever been ousted from the chamber since the Civil War.

The Associated Press and Caden Pearson contributed to this report.