Ooooh, that's not a good look

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee voted on Thursday to expel two Democratic legislators who joined a protest on the House floor last week after a deadly school shooting in Nashville. On March 30, protesters gathered at the State Capitol, and Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson and Justin Pearson led a chant of "power to the people" from the House floor.

The resolution to expel Johnson failed by one vote.

  CBS

Here they are. Pearson, Johnson, and Jones: Spot the difference.

Jones said he was speaking for young voters in his district "terrified" by mass shootings and criticized the house for not expelling other members who had confessed to crimes or misbehaved in their roles.

[...]

"This is not about expelling us as individuals. This is your attempt to expel the voices of the people from the people's house. It will not be successful," Jones said before the vote. "Your overreaction, your flexing of false power has awakened a generation of people who will let you know that your time is up."

[...]

The Tennessee House had previously expelled only eight lawmakers — six of them Confederate racists in the 19th century for refusing to affirm the citizenship of formerly enslaved Black people, one in the 20th century for a conviction of bribery, and one in the 21st century for sexual misconduct.

"Today's expulsion of lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent," President Biden said in a statement Thursday night. "Rather than debating the merits of the issue, these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly elected representatives of the people of Tennessee."

It's my understanding that special elections will be held to fill Pearson's and Jones' seats, and that they are eligible to run again. That should be interesting.

Ahead of the votes, Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett criticized the three lawmakers and moved to have a seven-minute video showing the lawmakers on the floor during the protest played.

[...]

The video showed Johnson, Jones and Pearson speaking on the house floor, using a bullhorn to amplify their voices. Some legislators were gathered behind them, and protestors could be heard in the background. Democrats questioned the video, because filming on the floor violates house rules, with Democratic chairman Rep. John Ray Clemmons calling it hypocritical that the person who made the video would not be punished the same way Johnson, Jones and Pearson were.

[...]

Several votes took place ahead of the vote to expel the legislators. Those votes were on bills including HB322, to harden schools with locked doors and drills, which was passed 95 to 4, with the "Tennessee Three" and one other Democrat voting no.

Because that will not work. The Nashville school of the latest shooting had locked doors. All these measures to "harden" schools don't work. But Republicans will try anything but gun control and assault rifle bans.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 04/08/2023:

The fallout from this is going to be enormous.

UPDATE 04/10/2023:

That was quick.