Justin Jones: Nashville council will vote to reinstate expelled lawmaker

Democratic lawmakers Justin Jones (middle) and Justin Pearson (right) were expelled last week

Tennessee officials are expected to vote on whether to reinstate one of two lawmakers who were expelled for leading a gun control protest in March.

Nashville's Metropolitan Council is holding a meeting on Monday to discuss filling the empty seat left by former representative Justin Jones.

Republican colleagues voted out Mr Jones as well as Memphis Rep. Justin Pearson last week.

The rare expulsion vote came just days after a school shooting in Nashville.

Six people, including three young children, were killed in the shooting.

Mr Jones is expected to return to the Tennessee House of Representatives, as 29 of 40 members of the Nashville council have said they would vote to appoint him as an interim representative, according to local outlet the Tennessean. A simple majority is required to reinstate Mr Jones.

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• Tennessee statehouse expels Democrats over protest

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The vote comes as state lawmakers return for their first floor sessions since the vote to oust Mr Jones and Mr Pearson.

A Memphis board of commissioners, meanwhile, is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to allow Mr Pearson to reclaim his seat as a temporary representative.

Both Mr Jones and Mr Pearson have vowed to return to the state house and have said they will run in a special election in the coming months to permanently fill the seats.

Republicans accused three Democratic representatives - Mr Jones, Mr Pearson and Gloria Johnson - of bringing "disorder and dishonour to the House" when they joined protestors at the statehouse on 30 March, leading chants from the lectern on the House floor calling for stricter gun laws.

The vote drew further controversy, as Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the state, ultimately voted to expel Mr Jones and Mr Pearson, who are black, and not Ms Johnson, a white woman.

Mr Jones told the BBC after the vote the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had silenced him and those who voted for him.

"We were calling for action so we can stop our young people and stop our children from being murdered and massacred," he said.

Together, Mr Jones and Mr Pearson represent about 140,000 constituents in Tennessee.

Several of their constituents expressed anger and told the BBC they felt disenfranchised by the vote to oust the two Democrats.

The Tennessee House of Representatives has only voted twice since the Civil War to expel a member - one time for a sitting lawmaker who was convicted of soliciting a bribe, and another for a majority whip who was accused of sexual misconduct.