Democrat lawmaker suggests she avoided expulsion from Tennessee legislature because she is White

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Three Tennessee House Democrats face expulsion, unrest at State Capitol

Fox News senior correspondent Steve Harrigan reports on unrest surrounding Tenn. Republicans' efforts to expel three lawmakers for disrupting the state House floor during protests for stricter gun control measures.

A Democrat lawmaker in Tennessee who survived a vote to expel her from the state legislature on Thursday attributed her survival to the color of her skin.

The motion to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is White, fell just one vote short after the motion to expel her Democrat colleague Rep. Justin Jones, who is Black and Filipino, reached the necessary threshold to remove him. Another Democrat, Rep. Justin Pearson, who is also Black, was expelled in a third vote.

TENNESSEE'S GOP-LED HOUSE VOTES TO EXPEL DEMOCRAT JUSTIN JONES FROM LEGISLATURE FOR HIS ROLE IN GUN PROTEST

Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville, Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, and Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis stand together before a group of supporters on the floor below the House chambers following a session where it was announced Republicans began the process of expelling them, Monday, April 3, 2023. (Nicole Hester /The Tennessean via AP)

The three faced expulsion following their roles in a protest calling for gun control after last week’s shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, that killed six people, including three children. 

Following the failed vote to expel Johnson, she was asked by a reporter why she was not expelled when Jones was.

"It might have to do with the color of our skin," she responded.

TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATOR FACING EXPULSION CLAIMS ‘NORTH KOREA HAS MORE DEMOCRACY THAN WE DO’

Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson People hold their hands up as they exit the House Chamber doors at Tennessee State Capitol Building in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 3, 2023. (Nicole Hester /The Tennessean via AP)

Thursday’s votes against Jones and Pearson marked an extraordinary move from lawmakers that has been executed only a handful of times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures possess the power to expel members, but it is normally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct.

Prior to the votes, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the expected expulsions "shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent." 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing at the White House on April 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.