Second ousted lawmaker to return to Tennessee House

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted on Wednesday to reinstate Rep. Justin Pearson to the Tennessee House after he was expelled for what the House called “disorderly behavior.” Pearson, along with fellow Reps. Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, on March 30 led a protest for stricter gun control on the House floor, using a bullhorn to direct chants from observers in the gallery. Hundreds of protesters had gathered at the capitol after the March 27 shooting that killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School, a Christian school in Nashville.

What happened to the other two lawmakers? The Nashville Metro Council on Monday voted to reinstate Jones to his position just days after he, too, was expelled from the House. The House fell one vote short of the votes necessary to expel Johnson from her seat.

Dig deeper: Listen to Lauren Canterberry and Kim Henderson’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about grief on the ground in Nashville.