A Tennessee House Democrat expelled from the Legislature for helping lead an anti-gun rally is continuing a legal battle against the Republican House speaker, saying his constitutional rights are being violated.
Rep. Justin Jones of House District 52 in Nashville filed a memorandum in U.S. District Court on Dec. 30 amending his complaint against Speaker Cameron Sexton and three House staff members, challenging a motion they filed to dismiss the case. In addition to Sexton, Jones filed the lawsuit against House Chief Clerk Tammy Letzler, Chief Sergeant at Arms Bobby Trotter, and House Assistant Chief Clerk Daniel Hicks, saying they repeatedly “sought to silence” him and prevent him from dissenting on issues such as “reasonable gun control,” a violation of his federal and state rights.
Jones says the violations started when the defendants “unlawfully expelled” him and Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat, in April 2023 following a hearing on the House floor. Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, also a Democrat, narrowly escaped expulsion. Jones and Pearson were reappointed by local elected bodies to their seats less than a week after being expelled, then won re-election twice…