Nashville sends Justin Jones back to the Tennessee House days after GOP lawmakers ousted him

Four days after being expelled by Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Democrat Justin Jones marched back to the Capitol on Monday following a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council to reappoint him as an interim representative.

His return representing Nashville’s House District 52 put a exclamation point on a remarkable 100-hour stretch in which Jones and another Black Democrat, Justin Pearson, lost their seats in an extraordinary, emotionally charged legislative session, after calling for gun reform during a protest on the chamber floor. A third Democrat who had joined them, Rep. Gloria Johnson, narrowly avoided expulsion during Thursday’s House session.

Jones returned to the House floor to cheers. His fellow Democrat, Rep. Antonio Parkinson, introduced him to the session as “our newest member.”