A black elected official from Tennessee, expelled for having demonstrated in the local parliament in favor of better supervision of firearms, will temporarily regain his seat after a vote on Monday. Last Thursday, Justin Jones, an elected Democrat, was expelled from the assembly, like another of his colleagues, also African-American, for having joined hundreds of demonstrators in the parliament building a week earlier.
Elected officials invited to the White House
They were calling for stricter gun regulations after a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville. A city council vote Monday night temporarily reappointed Justin Jones to his position, before a special election is held.
The exclusion of these two elected officials had plunged America into a fierce political battle, between debate on weapons and accusations of racism. Especially since a third elected Democrat, Gloria Johnson, white and threatened with exclusion for the same reasons, had managed to keep her seat, fueling accusations of racism. President Joe Biden had stepped up to the plate, inviting the three elected officials to the White House.