have been ousted from the Republican-controlled Tennessee state House of Representatives and one was allowed to stay in what marks the first partisan expulsion in the state's modern history.
State Rep. Justin Jones, the first lawmaker expelled when lawmakers voted to adopt HR65, called the resolution "a spectacle" and "a lynch mob assembled to not lynch me, but our democratic process."
"We called for you all to ban assault weapons and you respond with an assault on democracy," Jones said during his 20-minute opening statement.Following the adoption of the expulsion resolution, Jones said his ouster "is just setting a precedent that any member who voices dissent or opposition can be expelled from the legislative body.""Whether I'm a member on the inside or a community member on the outside, I will continue to stand with the people demanding change because this is not the end. But today is a very dangerous day for America," he said in a hallway interview after the vote, according to NewsNation.MORE: Who are the 3 Tennessee Democratic lawmakers facing explusionState Rep. Justin Pearson, who sang "Power to the People" and quoted from the Bible, said the resolution to remove him was an "injustice against the First Amendment.""Speaking up on behalf of the last, the lost, the least, those who've been left out, those who've been ignored, those who've been silenced but refuse to be silent anymore, that does not deserve expulsion from this House," he said before he was expelled from the chamber Thursday evening.