Tennessee House Democrat Justin Jones Assaulted Driver during 2020 Protests, Video Shows
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Tennessee house Democrat Justin Jones, who was just reinstated to the chamber after being expelled for leading a disruptive gun-control protest on the floor, assaulted a driver and faced serious charges for other misconduct committed while attending racial-justice protests in the summer of 2020.
Footage of rioting outside the state Capitol in 2020 first shared by Scoop Nashville appears to show Jones repeatedly hitting the driver of a car with a traffic cone. The video, which was resurfaced by the Post Millenial, shows Jones and other activists stopping and surrounding the vehicle before the driver escaped.
Jones was charged with assault, assault on an officer, and reckless endangerment, for which he was indicted on two counts after the video was presented to the grand jury in his case. Despite his violent behavior, Jones claimed in June 2021 that he was being “peaceful” and claims to the contrary were a “false narrative.”
“They will try to push a false narrative portraying me as ‘violent’ as a way to deflect from their own actions. They will suggest that I am out of order. That is their strategy. However, I’m hopeful for the chance to present our evidence in a transparent manner,” he tweeted.
Jones alleged that police colluded with prosecutors to “weaponize the law as a form of punishment for the mere fact that we chose to stand up.”
Last week, Jones, alongside progressive lawmakers Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson, was stripped of committee assignments and ousted from the statehouse by a vote of 72 to 25. All three legislators were accused of egging on protesters, who stood on a balcony within the chambers chanting, “Fascists! Fascists!” Demonstrators also blocked several entryways and exits, forcing state troopers to step in to assist members in moving throughout the building.
“What they did is they hijacked the house floor which has never been done in our history,” house speaker Cameron Sexton told National Review of the three lawmakers. “They pulled out a bullhorn. They weren’t recognized. They were ruled out of order and they led a protest from the house floor with a bullhorn to those in the balcony. They shut down the proceedings of the house. We had to go into recess due to their actions.”
Then on Monday, Jones was unanimously appointed as an interim representative for the 52nd district by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners also sent Pearson back to the Tennessee house as an interim representative less than a week after he was kicked out. Both lawmakers will have to win special elections to be officially reinstated.
