'Abuse of rules': TN Three member blasts 'fragile' GOP Speaker who silenced him 'for speaking off topic'

Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones (D) on Monday was silenced by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) and Republican colleagues during a "special session that Republican Gov. Bill Lee called in reaction to a deadly shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville in March," Associated Press (AP) reports.

Jones is a part of the "Tennessee Three" — the three Democratic lawmakers, including Jones, Reps. Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson — who were reprimanded (Jones and Pearson were temporarily expelled) earlier this year for participating "in a pro-gun control protest inside the Tennessee Capitol that attracted thousands of protesters demanding lawmakers address the state's lax gun laws," according to PBS.

Per AP, "Republican legislative leaders aren't taking up significant any gun control changes, including the governor's push to keep guns away from people judged to pose a threat to themselves or others," and as a result, "The House and Senate are locked in an icy standoff over what to pass as families close to the shooting have increasingly voiced their frustrations with the legislative process."

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Jones shared a video of himself exciting the state Capitol building via X — formerly known as Twitter — writing, "Just left the House Chamber after Speaker Sexton forced a vote to silence me for the remainder of the legislative day (for speaking 'off topic') and ordered the public cleared out of the gallery. This is the authoritarianism we are fighting against."

In the video he said, "Hey y'all, we have an update. We just left the House chamber. The Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest after Cameron Sexton decided to abuse his gavel and call for a vote so that I could not even speak for the rest of the session. He said it was because I was speaking off topic. So what we're seeing is this misapplication, this abuse of rules under the leadership of Speaker Cameron Sexton. Members of the public were taken out of the gallery. I was told I was gonna be silent. Our caucus walked out in solidarity, because what's happening is not democratic, it is authoritarianism."

Jones continued, "It's very troubling what we're witnessing here. You can see the Capitol is surrounded by troopers. This does not look like a democratic body anymore. It is very troubling, the trajectory that we're on, and really what he was trying to do was silence my vote of no-confidence, but what he does not know is that he's only guaranteed that more people will show up because it shows how fragile his power is, his attacks on democracy, his attacks on dissent, and will not go unchallenged. And so we''ll continue to resist.."

The public Jones referred to, according to AP, included gun control advocates who "shouted 'fascists' and 'racists,'" as Jones was silenced, before "Sexton ordered troopers to clear out the gallery."

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AP reports:

Earlier that session, Sexton warned Jones he was nearly 'impugning the reputation' of Republican Rep. Gino Bulso by calling Bulso's bills 'reprehensible,' 'asinine,' and 'insulting,' including one being discussed at the time that would allow private schools with pre-kindergarten classes to have policies allowing guns on campus.

Democrats noted that Bulso himself had been told to stay on topic, including when he said Jones 'continually misrepresents facts to the public,' then later said Jones 'makes outrageous statements,' without being put up for a vote on whether he should be silenced.

Not long after, Jones said lawmakers should 'stop trying to put more guns to start a gun fight in our schools that would not protect our children. What is one little Glock against an AR-15?'

Sexton then declared Jones out of order.

Soon after he left the House floor, according to AP, Jones told reporters, "The House is out of order under Cameron Sexton’s leadership. It's very disheartening, it’s very troubling. This is a step from authoritarianism, and we should all be troubled by this."

The Democratic lawmaker emphasized, "What our schools need are mental health professionals. We need funding for mental health, for counselors. We need to pay our teachers better. We don't need more police in our schools."

READ MORE: Kamala Harris visits Nashville to meet with 'Tennessee Three' after GOP expelled Black Dems

Watch the video below or at this link.

Associated Press' full report is available at this link.