Protesters Chant 'Fascists!' at Tennessee State Capitol as Democratic Lawmakers Face Expulsion
Three Democratic lawmakers faced expulsion from the Tennessee legislature, after they took part in anti-gun violence protests at the State Capitol, according to local news reports.
Reps. Justin Jones, Justin J. Pearson and Gloria Johnson were facing discipline after supporting protesters at the Tennessee State Capitol, days after the Covenant School shooting.
On Monday, April 3, the three lawmakers were removed from their committee assignments and had their badges to the capitol deactivated.
This footage, filmed by Jones on Monday, shows large crowds of protesters in the gallery chanting “fascists!”.
In an accompanying Twitter post, Jones wrote: “as Tennessee House Republicans push forward to schedule vote on our expulsion, Speaker Sexton orders the gallery cleared as crowd chants ‘fascists.’ Media forced out at as well.”
The footage also shows Jones’s phone being knocked out of his hand.
“Republican Rep. Lafferty (R-Knox) pushes me and grabs my phone. This is a sad day for Tennessee,” Jones said in his Twitter post.
Three nine-year-old children and three school staff members were shot and killed by a former Covenant student on March 27. Credit: Justin Jones via Storyful
Video Transcript
[CROWD CHANTING "FASCISTS!"]
[THUMP]
- Hey, get your hand off me, will you?
[CROWD CHANTING "FASCISTS"]
[THUMP]
- Hey get your hand off me, will you?
