Justin Pearson’s Speech Ripping Tennessee Republicans Viewed 2.9M Times

Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, one of the two Democratic state representatives expelled on Thursday, went viral on Twitter for a speech he gave ahead of the House vote on his expulsion.

Pearson, alongside Democratic State Representatives Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, led hundreds of protesters onto the Tennessee House floor March 30 after a youth-led demonstration pushed for stricter gun laws in light of the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville four days prior.

Three Republican lawmakers filed resolutions on Monday to expel their colleagues who participated in the protest, claiming that the Democratic representatives had engaged in “disorderly behavior.”

Protesters gather at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville to call for gun reform laws and show support for the three Democratic representatives who were facing expulsion. Two of the representatives were expelled on Thursday following a vote on the House floor after they participated in a protest for gun control measures last week. Seth Herald/Getty Images

Jones and Pearson were expelled after the GOP-controlled House voted on Thursday, while Johnson was spared expulsion. Reuters reported that Johnson may have been saved because, unlike her two colleagues, she did not use a megaphone to lead chants during the protest.

Pearson, who represents Tennessee’s 86th District, including part of Memphis, delivered a fiery speech on the House floor prior to the chamber voting on his expulsion. A segment of the video, posted by the account Acyn, was viewed over 2.9 million times at the time of publication.

“We, and you, are seeking to expel District 86th’s representation from this House in a country that was built on a protest,” Pearson said. “In a country that was built on a protest. You, who celebrate July 4, 1776, pop fireworks and eat hot dogs, you say to protest is wrong, because you spoke out of turn.

“Because you spoke up for people who are marginalized,” he continued. “You spoke up for children who won’t ever be able to speak again. You spoke up for parents who don’t want to live in fear, you spoke up for Larry Thorn, who was murdered by gun violence. You spoke up for people that we don’t want to care about. In a country built on people who speak out of turn, who spoke out of turn, who fought out of turn to build a nation.”

Pearson wrote a letter to his fellow House members on Monday taking “full responsibility and accountability” for not following decorum during the protests a week prior, but said that “it was impossible to sit idly by and continue business as usual” when we saw the youth-led demonstration.

Pearson also specifically mentioned Thorn, a former classmate of his, in his letter to his colleagues. Thorn, who worked for the Memphis-Shelby County School District, was shot dead this year, reported by WMC-TV.

Some people have speculated if race played a role in Jones and Pearson’s expulsion. Johnson, who is white, told reporters after the House spared her position that she and her fellow colleagues, both Black, may have had differing outcomes because of “the color of our skin.”

In a statement shared with Newsweek Thursday evening, the Tennessee Democratic Party said that Jones and Pearson’s expulsion “sets a dangerous new precedent for political retribution.”

“The day that a majority can simply expel a member of the opposing party without legitimate cause threatens the fabric of democracy in our state and creates a reckless roadmap for GOP controlled state legislatures across the nation,” read the statement. “This is not only unacceptable but a complete breakdown of our political system.”

President Joe Biden also condemned Tennessee House GOP members after the vote to expel Jones, tweeting that it was “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”

“Three kids and three officials gunned down in yet another mass shooting,” the president tweeted. “And what are GOP officials focused on? Punishing lawmakers who joined thousands of peaceful protesters calling for action.”