"Tennessee Three" Rep. Justin Jones sues House speaker, says he was unconstitutionally expelled

One of the Tennessee lawmakers who was briefly expelled from the state Senate has sued the state of Tennessee and several politicians, claiming that he was unconstitutionally removed from office.

Rep. Justin Jones was one of three Democrats involved in a gun control protest on the House floor in April after a shooting at The Covenant School left three students and three teachers dead. Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson, who are Black, were expelled, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is White, narrowly avoided removal. The two lawmakers were later reinstated to office and won special elections to retain control of their seats. 

In his suit, Jones said that he was expelled for attempting to lead "open discussion about the use of weapons of war in murdering six Nashville citizens" and since his reinstatement has been "blocked 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." As part of his expulsion, Jones was also removed from House committees, including the Government Operations and Education Administration committees, which he said he has not yet been restored to.