The Tennessee House will vote Thursday on whether to expel three Democrats for their participation in gun control protests last week on the chamber floor, capping off an acrimonious two weeks at the statehouse following the Covenant School shooting.
Reps. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville; Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis; and Justin Jones, D-Nashville are facing sanctions for breaking House rules on decorum, among other violations.
Last Thursday, the trio interrupted a floor session by using a megaphone to call for more gun control, days after a shooter killed six people, including three 9-year-olds, at a Nashville private school.
Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton called the lawmakers “insurrectionists” and is leading the charge to eject the Democrats.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, speaking to WPLN's This is Nashville show on Wednesday, called the Speaker’s actions unprecedented.
“This was not an insurrection,” Johnson said. “We’ve had skirmishes on the floor that have taken this long to resolve, and there were never any consequences.”
Protestors are expected to fill the steps outside the capitol in Thursday morning to rally for the lawmakers — dubbed by supporters “The Tennessee Three” — ahead of the vote.
Combined, the trio represent more than 200,000 Tennesseans, and the decision could leave their constituents without a vote in the remaining weeks of the session.
Republicans hold a 75-seat supermajority in the House and need only 66 votes to expel the Democrats.
In the event of an expulsion, there will likely be a special election later this year. Johnson, Pearson and Jones could run again.
This story was originally published by WPLN.