Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones of Tennessee was reinstated to his position Monday after being expelled last week over his involvement in what Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) described as an "insurrection."
Hundreds of Jones' supporters swarmed the state House prior to Jones' reinstatement, threatening, "no Justin, no peace," reported WZTV-TV.
Shocking footage from 2020 has re-emerged this week indicating that, contrary to the protesters' suggestion, there's no guarantee of peace with Justin Jones back on the scene.
A history of violence
According to the Tennessean, Jones faced over 15 charges ranging from trespassing to assault during what former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan dubbed the "summer of love."
Among the charges: assault of an officer; resisting arrest; disrupting a meeting; disorderly conduct; criminal trespassing; obstruction of a passageway; and aggravated littering.
Jones, who insisted that summer, "We must rise up, fight back," later claimed he was challenging "an entrenched white power structure."
The district attorney's office issued an indictment against Jones on two reckless endangerment charges, claiming he threw a traffic cone through the driver's side window of a moving car, striking the individual inside, reported the Tennessean.
Scoop Nashville, a local publication, shared a video of the incident, which appears to show several protesters initially holding up traffic.
While one individual pretends to have been injured by an idling vehicle, another person wearing a sun hat — identified as Jones — approaches the driver's side of a white truck and peers inside.As the driver attempts to circumnavigate the illegal blockade, the individual in the sunhat picks up a traffic cone and hurls it into the victim's face.
Trampling the law
Three hours after their issuance, however, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department recalled the warrants for Jones' and Harris' arrests.
Despite the recall, WZTV reported that 60 detectives had sorted through video and photographic evidence from the incident, establishing that the same police car Jones roosted on was the same that had been "significantly damaged," with its windows broken.
Central Precinct Saturday, May 30youtu.be
An attack on democracy
The arrest report indicated that Jones fought past uniformed state troopers and screamed, "Casada is a racist," while winding up his unprovoked attack.
Jones was subsequently barred from the Capitol and ordered to avoid contact with both Casada and Moody.
H/T: The Post Millennial