Justin Jones: Tennessee lawmaker reinstated three days after expulsion

Nashville city council has voted to reinstate one of two lawmakers who were expelled for leading a gun control protest last month.

The council voted unanimously to return Justin Jones to the legislature on Monday during a special session, 36-0.

Republican colleagues voted out the Nashville lawmaker along with Memphis lawmaker Justin Pearson last week.

The rare expulsion vote came just days after a school shooting in Nashville that left six dead.

The vote came as state lawmakers returned for their first floor sessions since the vote to oust Mr Jones and Mr Pearson.

Mr Jones was sworn in on the steps of the state capitol on Monday evening, surrounded by a crowd of his supporters.

"I want to welcome democracy back to the people's house," he said after returning to his old desk inside the building.

"Truth crushed to the ground will rise again," he said, adding: "No injustice attack on democracy will happen unchallenged."

A Memphis board of commissioners, meanwhile, is expected to vote on Wednesday on whether to allow Mr Pearson to reclaim his seat as a temporary representative.

Both Mr Jones and Mr Pearson had vowed to return to the statehouse and have said they will run in special elections in the coming months to permanently fill the seats.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper appeared at the council meeting on Monday, where he told the chamber that their expulsion vote was "unprecedented".

"Let's give the district their voice back. I call this body to give them their voice back now," he said.

Republicans accused three Democratic representatives - Mr Jones, Mr Pearson and Gloria Johnson - of bringing "disorder and dishonour to the House" when they joined protesters at the statehouse on 30 March, leading chants from the lectern on the House floor calling for stricter gun laws.

Ms Johnson, who is white, survived her expulsion by one vote, leading her to accuse Republicans of racism for expelling the other two legislators, who are black.

But Republicans said the reason they did not expel Ms Johnson was because she had less of a role in the protest and did not use a megaphone to lead chants.

Mr Jones told BBC News after the vote that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had silenced him and those who voted for him.

"We were calling for action so we can stop our young people and stop our children from being murdered and massacred," he said.

Together, Mr Jones and Mr Pearson represent about 140,000 constituents in Tennessee.

Several of their constituents expressed anger and told the BBC they felt disenfranchised by the vote to oust the two Democrats.

The Tennessee House of Representatives has only voted twice since the Civil War to expel a member - one time for a sitting lawmaker who was convicted of soliciting a bribe, and another for a majority whip who was accused of sexual misconduct.