Senate Democrats Reportedly Call For DOJ To Investigate

Topline

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) have called for the Justice Department to probe whether the expulsions of two Tennessee state representatives violated federal law, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Post, after they were removed for their participation in a gun reform protest.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the DOJ to investigate Tennessee’s expulsion of two … [+] Black representatives.

Key Facts

Schumer and Warnock have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to “use all available legal authorities” to determine whether the Tennessee legislature violated state Reps. Justin Jones’ and Justin Pearson’s First Amendment right to free speech and assembly, according to the Washington Post.

The senators have also asked Garland to investigate whether their expulsions violated civil rights statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, as Jones and Pearson—both Black men—were removed and Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white and also protested, was not.

The letter also argues the 14th Amendment rights of citizens in Nashville and Memphis—which Jones and Pearson represent, respectively—were violated.

Johnson suggested after a vote to expel Jones and Pearson that she was not removed because she is “a 60-year-old white woman, and they are two young Black men.”

The letter cites possible precedent in the Supreme Court’s 1966 ruling in Bond v. Floyd, which found a refusal by the Georgia House of Representatives to seat a Black representative to be unconstitutional.

Chief Critic

Both Warnock and Schumer said they “do not believe” votes to expel Jones or Pearson were justified, noting the Tennessee House had employed “the most draconian of consequences.”

Contra

Republican state Rep. Lowell Russell said in a statement he voted against expelling Johnson because she “did not participate to the extent that Jones and Pearson did.” He noted that he would have voted to expel Johnson if she also used a bullhorn to join in protestor’s chants.

What To Watch For

The Shelby County Board of Commission will vote Wednesday on whether to reappoint Pearson to his vacant seat. Jones was reappointed earlier this week.

Key Background

Jones, Pearson and Johnson each protested on the Tennessee House floor last month while demanding gun reform in the wake of a mass shooting at a Nashville elementary school that left six people dead. The GOP-led House subsequently voted to expel the three, arguing they had violated House rules for decorum. Both Jones and Pearson were expelled, though a vote to remove Johnson fell one vote short. Several major democrats have condemned the vote over the last week, including President Joe Biden, who called the votes “shocking, undemocratic and without precedent.” Former President Barack Obama said the votes were a “sign of weakness.”