Ousted Nashville Lawmaker Sent Back to Tennessee House by His City Council
Almost immediately after Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) was expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday, the majority of Nashville’s Metro Council said they would vote to reappoint him. On Monday, the council followed through on that promise, voting unanimously 36-0 to send Jones right back into the chamber where he and two other lawmakers raised Republican fury by participating in a peaceful gun-control protest late last month.
In the hours after Jones’ ouster, at least 29 members of Nashville’s 40-seat Metro Council indicated to The Tennessean that they planned to back his reinstatement. He only needed a simple majority to be restored as state congressman.
In a Friday interview with NBC News, council members said that they had received hundreds of messages from constituents demanding Jones be reinstated.