Cheney Orr/Reuters
Six black and red ribbons representing those who died in the March 27 mass shooting at the Covenant School in Tennessee were arrayed before the clerk when the Metro Nashville Council met in special session at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The single item on the agenda was to fill the vacancy left when Democratic State Rep. Justin Jones was expelled on Thursday. Jones, along with Reps. Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson had become known as the Tennessee Three when the ruling GOP supermajority in the General Assembly moved to expel them.
The trio was charged with violating “decorum” by stepping into the well on the house floor and briefly voicing solidarity with hundreds of protesters who gathered peacefully at the capital in the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting. They explained during expulsion proceedings on Thursday that