Protesters filled the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville on Thursday as lawmakers debated expelling a trio of Democrat members who joined a separate protest inside the building last week that disrupted proceedings.
The protesters gathered both inside and outside the capitol building on Thursday, holding signs and chanting. Some of the protesters were seen standing in the gallery above the floor of the state House, where they could watch as Democrat state Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville, Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Justin Pearson of Memphis faced an expulsion proceeding.
Jones, Johnson, and Pearson all joined a disruptive protest inside the state capitol on March 30 as activists entered the building and shouted slogans calling for tighter regulations on guns after a suspect, whom police identified as transgender, entered a private Christian school and killed six people, including three children, on March 27. The trio of Democrat lawmakers stood on the House floor and used a bullhorn to shout over their fellow lawmakers, joining chants with protesters….