You may recall a few months ago the chaos in Tennessee when three Democratic lawmakers helped to whip up a protest—which some called a “transurrection”—and disrupted a legislative session in the Capitol. Two of the lawmakers, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were expelled. But then they were voted back in.
The expulsion doesn’t appear to have stopped their attempts to disrupt the legislature.
During a session on Monday, a bill that would add more police officers to the schools was under consideration. More officers would be a great idea to provide more protection from violence, but it doesn’t fit the Democratic narrative, so Justin Jones objected to it and refused to stay on topic according to the rules. So the Speaker, Cameron Sexton, called for a vote to silence him for the rest of the day. That ticked off the leftist fans of Jones, who caused so much chaos in the gallery that the police had to clear it, and people resisted being removed. The Democrats also walked out when the GOP members refused to change their votes.
Then, on Tuesday, Jones tried to get a vote of no confidence in Speaker Sexton. It did not go well, even less well than the day before.
Jones didn’t succeed, even though the Jones fans in the gallery chanted, “Vote him out.”
But trouble erupted when Justin Pearson and Justin Jones stalked Sexton with signs as he was trying to leave after adjourning the session. At one point, Pearson got in between Sexton and another representative who was covering Sexton’s back. Pushing and shoving ensued. Sexton began shouting at Pearson, and Pearson began shouting back.
HAPPENING NOW: Chaotic ending to the TN Special Session as Rep. Justin Pearson approaches Speaker Sexton with a sign and is pushed away by security. pic.twitter.com/eRZou1QUtQ
— WKRN News 2 (@WKRN) August 29, 2023
People had to come between them to separate the pair and keep them away from each other as things deteriorated. House Majority Leader William Lamberth tried to calm down the situation and talk with Pearson.
The situation calmed down a little bit after the two were separated, but then Jones tried to ratchet things up again, throwing a tantrum by going up to the Speaker’s podium, banging the gavel, and declaring, “This House is out of order!”
Which was followed by Rep. Justin Jones gaveling while shouting “This house is out of order!” Commentary by @THEChrisOB pic.twitter.com/lCoKZiWAWh
— WKRN News 2 (@WKRN) August 29, 2023
Meanwhile, Pearson went out to the protesters and started chanting with them and whipping them up again.
This kind of behavior shows exactly why there’s a serious problem and why the two Democrats were expelled to begin with. They refuse to respect the rules or their colleagues; they think they are entitled to screech and disrupt the proceedings whenever they feel like it because their opinion is more important than everyone else’s. That isn’t the way it works, and they’re finding that out again. But because they got back in without any lasting consequences, they think they can continue to be disruptive. While they were put off by the adjournment, expect more fireworks to come in the future.
