Democrats Punished For Desperate Tantrums During Failed Redistricting Fight

The leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives punished Democrat lawmakers for protesting during debate over an electoral map that would eliminate the state’s lone Democrat congressional seat. 

House Speaker Cameron Sexton sent letters to Democrats on Tuesday, kicking them out of their committees for their behavior during debates on redrawing congressional maps to split Memphis into three Republican-favorable electoral districts. During debate on the House floor, Democrat lawmakers broke decorum and rules of order as leftist activists flooded the state Capitol building in Nashville to protest.

“Due to actions taken by members of the Democratic Caucus during the Second Extraordinary Session of the 114th General Assembly aimed at disrupting the democratic and legislative process and creating disorder on the House floor …,” Sexton wrote in a letter to Democrat House Leader Karen Camper. “Members of the Democratic House Committee will receive individual letters removing them from all standing committees and subcommittees of the House.”

Sexton said that Democrat lawmakers interlocked arms together “in the well of the House Floor,” blocked aisles, used “prohibited props and noisemakers,” and instigated and encouraged “disruptions of the legislative process in coordination with paid protesters and attendees in the gallery, including the distribution of earplugs to a member of your caucus.”

Protesters flooded the state Capitol building with noise makers, and the House gallery had to be cleared as activists disrupted floor proceedings. In one confrontation, Rep. Justin Pearson had a meltdown in front of a state trooper.

“Move the f*ck back!” Pearson shouted as he stared down the law enforcement officer.

The state trooper backed away and held his arms in the air as Pearson continued to berate him and call him “boy.”

“What the f*ck is wrong with you?” Pearson screamed. “What the f*ck is wrong with you? You stupid motherf*cker!”

Democrat Rep. Justin Jones, a lawmaker with a history of leftist activism, claimed the removal was based on racism. He said the action was based on his protests against a “white supremacist agenda.” 

“Just as my white Republican colleagues chose racial retaliation against Tennessee’s black voters, the Speaker of the House is now choosing retaliation against a black lawmaker for standing up against their Jim Crow racial gerrymander,” he posted on Instagram. 

Jones was previously kicked out of the legislature for participating in a protest from the House floor in favor of gun control. 

Ultimately, Governor Bill Lee signed a new election map into law that is expected to eliminate Tennessee’s lone Democrat held congressional seat. The move came after Lee called a special session to reevaluate the maps after the Supreme Court ruled that states did not have to maintain majority-black districts.