On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on resolutions to expel Democratic Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson for violating the chamber's decorum rules by leading personal protests for gun reform on the House floor and joining demonstrators in the chamber's public galleries during a legislative session three days after the 2023 Nashville school shooting.

[19] Jones, Johnson, and Pearson gathered at the well of the chamber and chanted, "No action, no peace" during a proceeding that day, using a bullhorn.

[21] The Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Cameron Sexton, condemned the protest, and compared it to the January 6 Capitol attack.

Sexton revoked their ID card access to the State Capitol on April 3 and stripped them of their committee assignments.

[26][27] As the Tennessee House of Representatives is a 99-seat body, the number of votes to expel a member is 66 in order to reach the required supermajority.

[30][31] HR 65, the resolution to remove Jones, was sponsored by Bud Hulsey and co-sponsored by Gino Bulso, Andrew Farmer, and Johnny Garrett.

Seven Republicans voted against the resolution: Jody Barrett, Charlie Baum, Rush Bricken, Bryan Richey, Lowell Russell, Mike Sparks, and Sam Whitson.

[38] Further turmoil erupted when the Nashville metro council rejected a bid to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in August 2022, drawing the ire of many GOP lawmakers.

[41][42] The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County set a meeting to discuss an interim appointment to the vacant District 52 on April 10.

[47] In September 2023 Johnson announced a campaign for the 2024 United States Senate election in Tennessee, challenging incumbent Republican Marsha Blackburn.

"[6] Former Vice President Al Gore wrote that the expulsions resulted in a "historically sad day for democracy in Tennessee.

State Representative Joe Towns Jr. criticized the expulsion saying "you never use a sledgehammer to kill a gnat; we are dropping the nuclear option.

“The Democrats led a mob into the capitol building and then tried to use the floor of the House as a staging ground for a political demonstration.

Pearson said of his expulsion: "You cannot ignore the racial dynamic of what happened today — two young black lawmakers get expelled and the one white woman does not," while Jones described it as "a farce of democracy.