Tennessee's Expulsion of Democrats Draws Criticism and Comparisons to Jan. 6 Insurrection.

Tennessee House Republicans expelled two Black Democrats and almost expelled a white colleague for participating in gun safety protests on the floor of the House following the deadly school shooting in Nashville. This move is similar to Missouri's Medicaid 23, where 23 pastors were arrested and charged with trespassing for protesting the refusal of Republicans to expand Medicaid. The Rev. Cassandra Gould, one of the 23 people arrested, says that "Tennessee is following Missouri’s dangerous precedent in punishing Black people in positions of power for political speech." However, justice will eventually win out, as seen in Missouri's passing of a statewide initiative in 2020 to expand Medicaid.