Nashville Rep. Justin Jones is suing the Tennessee House Speaker for silencing him during the special session. Jones was the only member silenced due to the new House rules enacted in August.
Today my attorneys filed a federal lawsuit to hold Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton responsible for his unconstitutional and discriminatory actions.
The people of District 52 deserve to have their voices heard without the threat of undemocratic silencing and retaliation. pic.twitter.com/3iLOOssTQ1
— Rep. Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) October 3, 2023
Speaker Cameron Sexton used a rule that the lawsuit calls “draconian and unconstitutional” to silence Rep. Jones, the day before the special session ended.
This new rule allowed Sexton to silence Jones for the remainder of that day after Republicans voted he was out of order. Democrats upset with the action walked off the floor with Jones.
Jones predicted the action when he was asked earlier in the session if he felt the rules were made to target him.
“I mean I have no doubt. I was the only member who was silenced yesterday,” said Jones. “I was the only member ruled out of order and had my microphone cut off when I was questioning about where in the rules can we hold the speaker accountable for abusing the rules.”
Jones’ lawsuit also claims that he was illegally expelled from the House after leading a gun control protest following the Covenant School shooting. He is asking that he be reinstated to his committee appointments and given seniority based on the original date of his election to the House of Representatives.
A win could also find that the rules put in place during special session were unconstitutional.
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