State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) was ruled out of order by the Tennessee House of Representatives on Wednesday after he reportedly claimed House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) was “drunk with power” on the second day of the 2024 legislative session.
Jones asked to speak about his purported concerns over an incident he and State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) claimed to have witnessed on Tuesday, when they alleged that Sexton’s security detail prevented Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) from riding in the same elevator as Sexton.
“He pushed our Majority Republican Leader and said you cannot get on with the Speaker,” alleged Jones (pictured above, right), according to a video of the exchange posted to X, formerly Twitter. Arguing against rules for the legislative session later approved by the House, Jones claimed the Republicans were asked to pass rules to empower “a speaker who is drunk with power.”
Immediately after Jones’ remarks, State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) called Jones to order and invoked a rule to bar Jones from continuing his remarks about Sexton. That vote was successful, barring Jones from continuing to deliver remarks about the purported elevator issue.
Jones’ speech about Sexton and the subsequent action against him came just one day after State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) raised allegations that Republicans sought to silence him. Jones, Pearson, and Johnson constitute the “Tennessee Three,” which faced expulsion in 2023 after they led a gun control riot in the Capitol.
Despite Pearson claiming twice on Tuesday that Republicans sought to silence him, an analysis of speaking times by Tennessee House representatives by State Representative Jody Barrett (R-TN-69) revealed the “Tennessee Three” collectively enjoyed more than seven hours of speaking time in 2023.
Pearson spoke for about three hours and 44 minutes, Jones spoke for two hours and 12 minutes, and Johnson spoke for almost 90 minutes.
Lamberth, whom Jones spoke about on Wednesday, was the only Republican representative among those ranked in the top 10 for speaking time in 2023, and he spoke for about 40 minutes over the course of the year. State Representatives Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) and Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville) were the only Republicans to join Lamberth when the list was expanded to the top 20 legislators, speaking for about 28 minutes and 17 minutes, respectively.
Jones filed a federal lawsuit against Sexton in October, alleging that the speaker violated Jones’ constitutional rights when Jones was expelled from the General Assembly.
The Democrat requests the court declare his expulsion unconstitutional and that Sexton “fully and immediately restore (including retroactively, where necessary) Representative Jones to the full rights and benefits of his elected office” and prevent Sexton from “punishing or in any way preventing Representative Jones from speaking on the floor of the House or otherwise in his capacity as a duly elected member of the House of Representatives.”
After his expulsion, Jones was temporarily reinstated by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County and was later reelected to his position.
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to pappert.tom@proton.me.
