Expelled Tennessee state lawmaker reinstated

NEW YORK

Tennessee state lawmaker Justin Pearson, one of two Black Democratic representatives who were expelled from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for supporting gun control protesters, was reinstated Wednesday.

County officials unanimously voted to return Justin Pearson to the House.

''The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope,'' he said after the vote. ''You can’t expel justice. You can’t expel our voice.''

The Tennessee House of Representatives expelled Pearson and Justin Jones last week after they participated in a gun control protest on the House floor following a shooting at a school in Nashville that left six people dead, including three children.

Jones was similarly voted back to the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday.

A third lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, who is white, took part in the protest but was not expelled.

The expulsions of the Black lawmakers were criticized by Democrats and Black leaders around the country.

President Joe Biden called it "shocking and undemocratic,'' while former President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter that it was a "sign of weakness."