By
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones, one of two Black state lawmakers who won back their seats after being dubiously removed from office by Tennessee Republicans, has filed a federal lawsuit over his expulsion.
The lawsuit claims House Speaker Cameron Sexton and others violated Jones’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
“The people of District 52 deserve to have their voices heard without the threat of undemocratic silencing and retaliation,” the Democrat wrote on X.
Sexton does not appear to have publicly commented on the lawsuit as of Wednesday.
“Time and again over the past year Defendants have blocked Representative Jones from expressing views on critical issues that he was elected to express, ensuring that viewpoints dissenting from their own are silenced, neither heard nor spoken,” the lawsuit says. “This censorship violates the constitutions of Tennessee and of the United States and is an anathema to a free, democratic society.”
In April, Jones and Rep. Justin J. Pearson were expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting gun violence on the House floor. Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white Democrat who also participated in the protest, survived her expulsion vote. They became known as the “Tennessee Three.”
Pearson and Jones were reinstated on an interim basis almost immediately, and they have since won back their seats in special elections prompted by their removal.
Jones — a well-known social justice activist who has drawn ire from conservatives in Tennessee for years — expressed concerns that he could face mistreatment upon his return to the House, and it certainly looks like those fears have materialized.
Jones — a well-known social justice activist who has drawn ire from conservatives in Tennessee for years — expressed concerns that he could face mistreatment upon his return to the House, and it certainly looks like those fears have materialized.
During a special legislative session in August, Sexton used new rules to silence Jones after the Democrat was speaking on the House floor. Sexton twice declared Jones to be out of order, leading to a House vote that kept him from being recognized to speak for the rest of the day. Coincidentally or not, Jones had announced earlier in the day that he planned to initiate a vote of “no confidence” in Sexton as speaker.
Afterward, Jones appeared on “The ReidOut with Joy Reid” and claimed Sexton had threatened him with “indefinite” silencing if he were to continue to be found out of order. And Jones said this behavior fit a pattern of Sexton “acting as an authoritarian and silencing members — particularly, the two youngest Black members — from speaking.”
(In a statement at the time, Sexton said: “The House rules were voted on by members at the start of special session and adopted by the legislative body. The body has the ability to affirm or deny the Speaker’s decision to rule Rep. Jones out of order. The body affirmed the Speaker’s decision.”)
On “The ReidOut,” Jones also addressed the lingering issue of his committee assignments. Once Jones officially won back his seat in early August, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is representing the lawmaker, sent a letter to Sexton demanding that Jones be “fully reinstated to all rights, duties, and privileges of his office, including all committee assignments.”
The letter claimed “anything less will disenfranchise and deny the people of the 52nd District of representation by the person that they have now twice elected to speak on their behalf in the People’s House.” (In response, Sexton told the Chattanooga Times Free Press: “I appreciate receiving the letter from someone as distinguished as Eric Holder. Unfortunately, at the current time, no committee decisions have been made on special session.”)
Jones’ federal lawsuit shows he has moved beyond making personal demands that Tennessee Republicans comply with democratic ideals. Now he’s calling on a court to do it.