Tennessee county commission votes to return ousted state Rep. Justin Pearson to legislature

The Shelby County Commission voted on Wednesday to return former state Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, to his post in the state legislature after Republicans in the chamber voted to remove him over his conduct during a gun control protest at the Capitol.

The vote follows a comparable decision from the Nashville Metropolitan Council to return state Rep. Justin Jones to the Capitol after Democrats ousted him as well. The pair, along with Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson, came to the podium of the lower chamber during the protest and encouraged protesters outside who were demanding gun control reform.

Pearson sounded a triumphant tone after the vote, saying "[t]he message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope."

"You can’t expel justice. You can’t expel our voice," he said, per The Hill. "And you sure can’t expel our fight. We look forward to continuing to fight, continuing to advocate until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!"

Johnson, a white woman, avoided expulsion by a single vote. Jones and Pearson's ousters prompted accusations of racism as both are black men.

Jones, for his part, warned Republicans prior to his removal that their efforts would backfire, saying "[y]our overreaction, your flexing of false power has awakened a generation of people who will let you know that your time is up."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.