Actions of the Tennessee state legislators who protested against gun violence were “at least equivalent” to the actions of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
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Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, is flanked by former state Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, left, and former Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, outside the House chamber on April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
Why it’s wrong to call the Tennessee state representatives insurrectionists
If Your Time is short
- Three Tennessee Democratic state representatives protested against gun violence on the state House floor March 30.
- The protest did not result in any violence or vandalism, although it stopped the House’s usual legislative business.
- In comparison, on Jan. 6, 2021, rioters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol as they sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Cameron Sexton, the Republican speaker of the Tennessee House, compared the actions of three Democratic representatives who protested on the House floor with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the U.S. Capitol.
"There were three Democratic lawmakers, one from Knoxville, who basically tried to take over the House floor and cause an insurrection on the House floor today," Sexton said in an interview on "The Hal Show Podcast" on March 30, the day of the protest.
Sexton said state representatives Justin Jones of Nashville and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville "have been very vocal about Jan. 6 in Washington D.C., about what that was, and what they did today was equivalent, at least equivalent — maybe worse, depending on how you look at it — of doing an insurrection in the Capitol."
Days later, Sexton tweeted that his comments were not directed toward the peaceful protesters but "toward the actions of three Democrat lawmakers who rushed the well and those who led a protest on the House floor with a bullhorn."
The characterization of either the protesters or the trio of Democratic lawmakers as insurrectionists was elevated by conservative pundits and echoed on social media.
The trio of Democratic lawmakers— Jones, Johnson and Justin J. Pearson of Memphis — were calling for action against gun violence days after a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school.
We found that the peaceful actions by the Tennessee lawmakers did not mirror the criminal actions of the more than 1,000 people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"It is nonsense to refer to the actions of the ‘Tennessee Three’ as an ‘insurrection,’" said John J. Pitney, Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. "They were not trying to overthrow the government."
The trio of lawmakers led chants, but there was no violence or vandalism
A young girl on March 28, 2023, places an item at a growing memorial for the victims of the shooting at the entry to The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)
On March 30, hundreds of protesters flooded the Tennessee Capitol hallways and the public viewing galleries, chanting phrases like "Shame on you," "Save our children," and "Children are dead, and you don’t care."
A video clip showed Jones holding a megaphone and a "protect kids not guns" sign, flanked by Pearson and Johnson. The three lawmakers took over the House foor’s lectern and led chants, such as "Power to the people," echoed by the protesters gathered in the galleries.
Johnson told PolitiFact in an interview that 15 seconds after lawmakers walked up to the lectern, Sexton cut off the microphone and called for a recess. The trio of lawmakers continued leading chants.
We watched a video showing about seven minutes of the lawmakers and saw no violence or vandalism.
Meanwhile, other legislators and staff milled about the House floor chatting with one another. Some of these people looked at the trio; others turned their backs to them. Their body language did not suggest that they feared for their safety.
Wes Moster, a spokesperson for Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which oversees Capitol security, told PolitiFact that there was no violence or property destruction during the protest, nor did law enforcement officers make any arrests.
The state House voted April 6 to expel Jones and Pearson; a resolution to expel Johnson failed by one vote. The Nashville Metropolitan Council reappointed Jones to his seat April 10, and he was sworn in that day. The Shelby County Commission voted April 12 to reinstate Pearson.
The assault on the Capitol Jan. 6 involved multiple charges of violence and vandalism
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington. (AP)
The scene on the Tennessee House floor stopped legislative business, but it did not resemble the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol that sent some lawmakers running for their lives.
The U.S. Justice Department has said that more than 1,020 people have been arrested for their actions on Jan. 6.
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