State Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and then-expelled Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, raise their hands just before Jones takes the oath of office outside the state Capitol Monday, April 10, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson will return to the Nashville capitol after being expelled by Republicans on April 6 for participating in a peaceful, anti-gun violence protest. The protest was in response to the Nashville school shooting that occurred on March 27. 

Both the Nashville Metro Council and the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate Rep. Jones and Rep. Pearson, respectively. 

“Following the school massacre, I walked into work in the State House each day seeing hundreds of young protesters, many with signs that asked, ‘Am I next?’” Pearson wrote in a New York Times op-ed. 

“We were traumatized, too. We wanted action, too. And the difference was — it was literally our job to act. Yet, Republican legislators refuse to take meaningful action.”

Pearson and Jones — alongside Rep. Gloria Johnson (D)— were charged by Tennessee Republicans for breaking “decorum” rules when they took a leading role in the protests. The former are Black, while the latter is white. 

The state constitution requires a two-thirds majority to excise a member from office. Johnson escaped removal, but Republicans received enough votes to dismiss Jones and Pearson. 

Upon being reinstated, Jones demanded the resignation of Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton. 

“Speaker Cameron Sexton, you can either move on over, or we’ll move on over you, because we’re moving on,” he said right after being reinstated by the Metro Council. 

“And so, friends, Nashville and Tennessee, we hope you’ll join us in the people’s House, because no matter what happens here today, we have a speaker who may not respect the results,” Jones concluded.